blueline

Moving sale; everything must go...

2010-04-05T22:16:00.003-04:00

Blueline has moved to a NEW LOCATION!

www.kyblueline.com

Good bye Blogspot; I thank thee for the lovely times.

I'll probably be tweaking the look here & there over the next few weeks.

Updates & more posts soon, in the meantime, be sure to check out the Upcoming Shows page because there are LOTS of great ones coming around.

Thanks for being patient, y'all.

FORECASTLE 2010 initial line-up

2010-03-31T13:59:00.004-04:00

Louisville's 9th annual Forecastle Fest has announced its initial 2010 line-up:

FLAMING LIPS - WIDESPREAD PANIC - SPOON
Drive-By Truckers - Bassnectar - Minus the Bear - The New Deal - Lucero
Cap'n Jazz - Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - Sara Watkins
Mimosa - Mucca Pazza - Company of Thieves - EOTO
Dar Williams - Savoy - BoomBox - Two Fresh - Morning Transportation

Over 60 more performers will be announced in the upcoming weeks, according to a press release sent (curiously) by Nederlander Worldwide Entertainment, an entertainment agency that apparently also organizes Broadway shows in China.

Tickets are on sale now for $60 a day; $150 for a weekend pass. (Glad the company I work for is a sponsor!) Available at ticketmaster.com, Ear X Tacy, CD Central, Shake-It Records, Indy CD and Vinyl and Grimey's.

The fest is July 9th - 11th at Waterfront Park. More info at forecastle.com.

weekend haps at the 6th&Lime complex

2010-03-25T16:40:00.002-04:00

tonight at the 6th&Lime complex (Thursday, March 25):

KILL THE NOISE at Al's, featuring FullMooners, JustMe and DJ Matt Minter. Before the UK game (which starts at 10), FREE.
Ellen Molle DJing at Sidecar, also FREE (21+)

tomorrow at the 6th&Lime complex (Friday, March 26):

I Guess I'm Floating presents: Holiday Shores, Twin Sister and Idiot Glee (there is a rumor that Sleepy Sun may be joining the bill as well). Not terribily familiar with HS or TS but here's a review from Backseat Sandbar on Holiday Shores' December appearance in Louisville with Idiot Glee & Evangelicals...

This Week in Lex

2010-03-24T13:46:00.004-04:00

Wednesday, March 24 (tonight!):

WRFL presents....AWESOME COLOR at Al's Bar! TYVEK, CROSS and BABES will also play. Super great garage skate jams. Check out Nick Kidd's preview from North of Center. 9ish/10ish, all ages, $5
Buster's THE BENDER installment #4 ~ featuring Today the Moon, Tomorrow the Sun; Spooky Q's (whose new album just got an awesome review in an online horror mag!?); The Winter Sounds. 9 p.m.$7, 18+

Thursday, March 25:

The Cats destroy Cornell to advance to the Elite 8! Belly up with a sixer and watch it go down! (Yes I'm writing about sports. March Madness really got to me this year). Approximately 9:57 p.m.
Buster's THE BENDER installment #5: The Butchers, Switchmen, Brenn, The Worsties. $9 p.m. $7

Friday, March 26:

Girlie Girl Burlesque Spring Sizzle at Bar Lexington, featuring the lovelies Miss Kitty van Dyne, Miss Nixie Nylon, Miss Elisabeth de Sade, Miss Fonda Petting, and Miss Siobhan Atomica. Ooh la la! Doors at 9 p.m. $10 per ticket or $35 to reserve a table of four in advance.
Buster's THE BENDER installment #6, featuring These United States, Tense Kids, Onward Pilgram. 10 p.m. $7. 18+
Killer Meteor CD Release Party at The Green Lantern. 21+

Saturday, March 27:

Nevermind the Northside Denim Dance Party at Sidecar. Free, 21 +
Buster's THE BENDER installment #7, featuring Hippiedigger, Mobley, Nate FX

CD Central announces Record Store Day details

2010-03-24T13:17:00.003-04:00

If you're a subscriber to CD Central's wonderfully informative newsletter, you may have already caught this. For everyone else, here's the skinny (more info about other events & new releases on the CD Central website):

CD Central will be celebrating their 15th birthday (happy birthday!) in the midst Record Store Day, which takes place April 17. The celebration will actually start earlier that week, however. Schedule below:

April 12-15 : "CD Central Family Jam." In-store performances every day with bands featuring past and present CD Central employees.
April 16: Apples in Stereo Party. Pre-game for the Cosmic Charlie's show that night and celebrating the release of the new album (which will apparently be released in Lexington a few days before the rest of the country, because we're so special and shizz).
April 17: RECORD STORE DAY. Scheduled bands include psychedelic folker Wooden Wand (apparently now based out of Lexington, according to the MySpace?); local roots rock favorites Coralee and the Townies (whose new debut EP just dropped March 19); New Yorker Rachel Sage (playing at Al's Bar that evening); Rough Customers (local ska-punk); Contra-punctus and more to be announced. Also expect the usual activities: lots of bargain CDs, Record Store Day exclusives, food, lots of people, good times.

Support our local record store and help keep it the best ever! And don't forget about the fabulous March Madness specials:

Every Monday in March: 15% off all USED CDs
Every Tuesday in March: 15% off all USED DVDs
Every Wednesday in March: 15% off all NEW & USED VINYL
Every Thursday in March: 15% off all T-SHIRTS and POSTERS

MAN MAN at Cosmic Charlie's

2010-03-23T20:30:00.003-04:00

Head's up Lexington, MAN MAN are playing at Cosmic Charlie's on May 13. In related awesome news, Cosmic Charlie's will be doing some 21+ shows starting soon (if not already) and this is one of them.

Thursday, May 13
18+
$12 (+ $3 if you're under 21)

(Here's a video, although their recorded stuff doesn't hold a candle to their live performances, which are copious amounts of fun)

Check out You Aint No Picasso for some recently posted live videos of new songs (still not as cool as being there) and some archived photos from their crazy Halloween show at Buster's.

(Spoiler Alert: It's the same night Growing is playing Al's. Bummer. Maybe the two venues will find a way to coordinate, yesss?)

Neil Young to play Kentucky

2010-03-23T14:14:00.002-04:00

Neil Young will play a solo show at Louisville's Palace Theater (one of the country's most beautiful theaters I've ever been to, by a landslide) on Wednesday, May 26. I don't think much else really needs to be said, except that as far as musicians whose prime has passed (a breed that The Palace now specializes in, given their current calendar) this show should be spectacular. (Is that blasphemous? Don't get me wrong. I love Neil Young, a lot.)

Whether the show is $85 spectacular, $125 spectacular or $245 spectacular - that's for you to decide, dear reader. Tickets go on sale Saturday, March 27. More info here.

Lex-born play premeiring this week

2010-03-22T20:37:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow (Tuesday, March 23) is the world premiere of the new play Higher Education, and Wednesday (March 24) is the closing night.

The play is written by, directed by, featuring the voices of and starring Lexingtonians ~ Donna Ison and James Brown (actors); Don Antenten (director); James Vincent (aka James Brown, playwright); Colleen Glenn and Bill Widener (voices; you might know these two as local RFL radio personalities).

It has been described as "hilarious and life-changing."

Central Public Library , 7 p.m., both nights. FREE! Support homegrown art, yo.

Brian Jonestown Massacre coming to Cincy

2010-03-22T15:24:00.003-04:00

Brian Jonestown Massacre has announced some North American spring tour dates, including a June 10 stop in Cincy at the Mad Hatter - in support of their new album. I haven't listened to said album, which came out February 23, but the title (Who Killed Sgt. Pepper?) falls in tradition with the band's long history of naming things (songs, albums, themselves) after high profile psychedelic figures/ album titles/ band names (see also Their Satanic Majesty's Second Request; My Bloody Underground; Bringing it All Back Home Again; Brian Jonestown Massacre). Pretty sure CD Central has it on wax, maybe I'll pick it up today if someone hasn't beat me to it.....

If you're on the fence about these guys, as I can be from time to time, I will say that I was really taken with their 2008 release (My Bloody Underground). The album is more diverse than most of the others I've heard, with touches of experimental noise, some space-rock, even a gorgeous solo piano tune – an overall nice departure from some of their previous albums, many being arguably too heavy on the perfectly lovely, yet perfectly repetitive, sad-bastard neo-folk songs.

Regardless, the band is epic, and known for its unpredictable live performance. Mark June 10 on yr calendars.

The rest of the dates, from the band's MahSpace page:

May 28 2010

8:00P

Cabooze

Minneapolis, Minnesota

May 29 2010

8:00P

Turner Hall

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

May 30 2010

8:00P

The Metro

Chicago, Illinois

May 31 2010

8:00P

Grog Shop

Cleveland, Ohio

Jun 2 2010

8:00P

Phoenix Concert Hall

Toronto, Ontario

Jun 3 2010

8:00P

La Tulipe

Montreal, Quebec

Jun 4 2010

8:00P

Paradise Rock Club

Boston, Massachusetts

Jun 6 2010

8:00P

Webster Hall

Manhattan, New York

Jun 8 2010

8:00P

TLA

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Jun 9 2010

8:00P

9:30 Club

Washington DC, Washington DC

Jun 10 2010

8:00P

Mad Hatter

Cincinnati, Ohio

Jun 11 2010

8:00P

Off Broadway

St. Louis, Missouri

Jun 13 2010

8:00P

Bluebird Theatre

Denver, Colorado

Jun 14 2010

8:00P

Urban Lounge

Salt Lake City, Utah

Jun 15 2010

8:00P

Knitting Factory

Boise, Idaho

Jun 17 2010

8:00P

Crystal Ballroom

Portland, Oregon

Jun 18 2010

8:00P

Commodore Ballroom

Vancouver, British Columbia

Jun 19 2010

8:00P

Neumo’s

Seattle, Washington

Jun 21 2010

8:00P

The Fillmore

San Francisco, California

Jun 22 2010

8:00P

Henry Fonda Theatre

Los Angeles, California

tonight's haps in Lex

2010-03-16T16:28:00.003-04:00

Tuesday, March 16:

CD CENTRAL 6 p.m. FREE all ages
CD Central is hosting a White Stripes listening/viewing party in celebration of the new live album/DVD, Under the Great White Northern Lights, tonight at 6 p.m. Free pizza, Ale-8 and a chance to win some White Stripes gear. 6 p.m., 377 S. Limestone. Also, record Store Day is coming up - April 17 - so be sure to stay tuned for details on the in-store celebration and other great in-store shows coming up at Kentucky's greatest independent music store!

VOID SKATESHOP 8 p.m $5 all ages
The Void will host 4 bands tonight, including local electro-beat wizards Street Gnar (Case Mahan solo project) and Trailblazer (Coleman Guyon solo project) and, all the way from Canada, Dirty Beaches (sounds like Suicide) and Makeout Videotape.

SIDEBAR 10 p.m. FREE 21+
DJs Mark Murray and Leeroy Bryant at Sidebar. Getcha dance on at Lex's smallest dance bar.

2010 Forecastle Line-up coming soon

2010-03-16T15:07:00.003-04:00

I've been wondering when the 2010 Forecastle Festival was going to announce their line-up, and today I got my answer: MARCH 31, 1:00 p.m.

Cryptic clues have been posted on their website for about 8 or so of the bands they have confirmed. If you're into guessing games and whittling away your time in from of the computer, you can take some stabs and register to win 2 VIP passes to the fest, which takes place in downtown Louisville July 9-11.

Discounted $135 3-day passes are available for a limited time through Ticketmaster here. The password MUSIC will grant the discounted price up until the moment they announce the line-up (again, March 31, 1:00 p.m.), for anyone brave and trusting enough to splurge on a festival without knowing a single band that will perform (hint: last year's headliner's included the Black Crowes, Black Keys and Widespread Panic). At that time, the price will go up to $150 for a 3-day pass; $60/day.

Visit forecastlefest.com for more info, updates and to guess the artists.

today this, tomorrow that

2010-03-09T13:15:00.002-05:00

TONIGHT, March 9, 8 p.m. at the Cat's Den (in UK's Student Center). FREE/ALL AGES.

Camp Cougarmelon ~ new local supergroup featuring members of Pezhead, Hair Police, March Madness Marching Band, Fuma, etc.; i.e., Trevor Tremaine, Robert Beatty, Dave Farris and Farhad Rezia. Haven't seen these guys yet (first show, I think?) but I would expect manic percussion, electric thumb pianos, general insanity.

Junk Thought ~ experimental artsy duo from up north (i.e. Cincy). Formerly known as Stripe Light. Violin & scuzzy electronics.

Everyone Lives Everyone Wins ~ you should probably be familiar with these guys by now, but tonight's show should be something new. Less guitars, more weirdo noise boxes, looping, theramin, etc.

TOMORROW, Wednesday, MARCH 10:

ARA on WRFL Live, 8 pm.
Listen....wrfl.fm

SAVIOR ADORE (Brooklyn)
MON KHMER (Brooklyn)
IDIOT GLEE (LexVegas)
CANDY (LexVegas)
at Al's Bar
all ages, 9 p.m.

Upcoming shows in the region

2010-03-05T11:57:00.006-05:00

There are so many sweet shows this spring that my head is spinning. Click here my updated listing of Upcoming Shows in the Lexington/Louisville/Cincy triangular circumference, including (but certainly not limited to):

MISSION of BURMA at Southgate House - Wednesday, April 7
BLACK LIPS at Headliner's - Thursday, April 8
ACID MOTHER'S TEMPLE at Cosmic Charlie's- Wednesday, April 14
NO AGE at Bar Lexington (in the upstairs karaoke space formerly known as Skylight Lounge) - Friday, April 23
TRANS AM at Northside Tavern (heard of this place? me neither. I'm all over this show though!) - Saturday, April 24
BABY DEE w Everyone Lives Everyone Wins/Silverware at Niles Gallery (Lex) - Thursday, May 6
GROWING at Al's Bar (just announced!) - Thursday, May 13
SILVER MT. ZION at Southgate House- Thursday, May 27
CARIBOU and TORO y MOI at Zanzabar - Tuesday, June 8

Be sure to check out James Friley's gig list (relocated to JJ's Korner) for a more often-updated and complete listing of upcoming Lexington shows; You Ain't No Picasso's concert calendar for more indie-centric regional shows; and Backseat Sandbar for more Louisville area shows.

If you'll be in Lex this weekend, check out VETIVER at Al's on Saturday (March 6) with Matt Duncan and Nathan Salsburg. (I'll be in Louisville, fancying it up for my birthday at the 21C~)

Send any exciting updates my way at kyblueline@gmail.com. Try to keep them relevant to my taste, which is fairly explicit all over this blog.

Pitchfork Line-up additions

2010-03-05T10:12:00.004-05:00

Pitchfork Music Festival announced some pretty fun line-up additions this morning, including Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Panda Bear and Broken Social Scene. At the time I'm writing this, they haven't put the info up on their site yet, but I'm sure it'll be up there soon.

Three-day passes are already sold out, but you can still get a one-day pass for each of the three days....

Here's who has been announced for each day so far:
FRIDAY, JULY 16
Modest Mouse, Broken Social Scene, El-P

SATURDAY, JULY 17
LCD Soundsystem, Panda Bear, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Raekwon, Titus Andronicus, Bear in Heaven, Freddie Gibbs, The Smith Westerns, Dâm-Funk

SUNDAY, JULY 18
Pavement, St. Vincent, Lightning Bolt, Girls, Cass McCombs, Here We Go Magic, Sleigh Bells, Cave, Alla

The shows will start at 3 pm Friday this year, instead of 5 pm like in the past. More band announcements coming soon!

Happy burfday, WRFL

2010-03-04T16:14:00.002-05:00

Next Monday marks the official 22nd anniversary of WRFL's first broadcast, which went down March 8, 1988. I bet the kids those days were playing lots of Pixies and Sonic Youth and Jesus & Mary Chain. Some things never change.

Anyway, ACE Weekly put together a nice package to commemorate the occasion, including a piece by Matt Dacey and a piece by Megan Neff, regular ACE contributor and current music director (she does a mighty fine job, too...over the past couple of semesters, RFL's playbox has been home to some of the best jams I've seen in the 5 years I've been at the station).

Grab a copy of this week's ACE to check out the articles, or grip the PDF version here.

LFL announces music video contest

2010-03-04T14:22:00.002-05:00

Lexington Film League announced a music video contest at last weekend's Do-ers Contest screening/awards ceremony. Official details announced on LFL's Website today:

"From March 1 until May 1 we are soliciting submissions for all musical genres.

The contest will culminate in a night of music and video at Buster’s Billiards & Backroom featuring live bands and screenings of the top submissions. The winner of the contest will be rewarded with a coveted screening slot at Louisville’s Flyover Film Festival!

Whatever your interpretation of a “Music Video” is—we’re interested! Your video must have been made in the last 3 years and you must own the rights to all music used. Otherwise—the sky’s the limit!

Mail To:
Please send a high resolution dvd to:
LFL Music Video Contest
c/o Sarah Wylie VanMeter
1113 North Limestone
Lexington, Ky 40505

There is an $8 submission fee per video."

Idiot Glee Live on WRFL tonight

2010-03-03T16:43:00.007-05:00

James Friley, aka Idiot Glee

Idiot Glee, the one-man band-turned-overnight-Internet-sensation featuring Lexington's very own James Friley, will perform live on WRFL tonight as part of Ben Allen's kickass WRFL-Live series. The series features a different local act every Wednesday evening around 9 p.m., and Ben graciously posts photos and mP3 archives of the performance on his WRFL Live blog.

You can tune in to catch the show at 88.1 Fm on your radio dial if you're in Lex (James's sweet and summery pop jams might even make an interesting soundtrack to the second half of the UK game). Catch it via the interweb stream at wrfl.fm if you're anywhere else in the world. (P.S. Shameless self-promotion: My own WRFL show happens to start directly after Ben's ~ 10 p.m. - midnight every Wednesday.)

Idiot Glee got yet ANOTHER mention in a national online publication today, this time in the (rather bizarre) format of a transcription of a Facebook chat conversation between Friley and the writer (Impose Magazine's Hallie Newton). Those internet writers are eating him up, and with good reason. Order the insanely-low priced Idiot Glee EP on 7-inch here.

Local tip: if you're looking for street cred, you might wanna go ahead and align yourself in the "I was a fan of Bedtime before Friley turned into an international pop star" camp before it's too late for anyone to believe you.

UPCOMING WRFL LIVE PERFORMANCES
Live performances from Lexington bands on WRFL, every Wed. night on Ben Allen's radio show (8-10 p.m.). Bands typically play from 9 - 9:45 p.m.

March
10—Ara
17—Little Noodles
24—Matt Duncan
31—Spooky Qs

April
7—Jovantes
14—J. Marinelli
21—Lee Bryant
28—Wretched Worst

May
5—Latin Heat

Creative Cities ~ Now What, Lexington?

2010-03-03T10:58:00.003-05:00

In case you missed Tom Eblen's column this morning, new social welfare non-profit ProgressLex has announced a companion event to April's Creative Cities Summit (hosted in Lexington for the first time this year). The free event, called "Now what, Lexington?," is an "unconference" that will take place the week after the Creative Cities event, geared toward taking some of the ideas that might be discussed during the summit and turning them into action steps.

Now What, Lexington? will take place at the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning, which graciously donated its space for the event. No schedule will be set in advance; rather, participants are encouraged to run their own session and schedule it the morning of the event. Sessions should address action steps rather than simply discussing a problem or issue. If you are tired of hearing the same rehashed complaints about Lexington and are itching to participate in some solutions, I can't imagine a better time to start. The event's website is a wiki, meaning anyone who signs up for a free account can change its content to add sessions they would like to see or lead.

The Creative Cities Summit will take place in Lexington from April 7-9, featuring a variety of sessions that focus on topics like social innovation, creative capital, economic development, etc. Speakers include Richard Florida, Rebecca Ryan, Ben Self and others.

ProgressLex was formed with the vision of helping make Lexington one of the most livable cities in the U.S. through using its most valuable asset - its people.

Now What, Lexington?
Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning
April 17th, 9 a.m until approximately 5:30 p.m.
FREE. Sign up to attend here.

Free screening of weirdo art video TONIGHT

2010-03-02T15:08:00.003-05:00

Super cool audio/visual art exhibit tonight at The Cat's Den (in UK's student center): a screening of COLOR FIELD VARIATIONS, a DVD celebrating the abstract modernist work of artists practicing the Color Field movement of the '40s and '50s. According to new Lexington art blog ArtBeat (dig it!), this tripped-out psychedelic art show has only been screened at a handful of exclusive cities across the world (you know, like London, Brussels, Tel Aviv, Lexington...).*

8 pm
Colorfield Variations screening
Cat's Den
Free Pizza and Snacks
Opening remarks by UK professor Dmitry Strakovsky

from the Colorfield Variations website:
"The Color Field movement, defined by abstract canvases featuring broad fields of solid color, flourished in the post-war era of the 1940s and ’50s. Inspired by European modernism and closely mirroring the works of artists like Mark Rothko, Clyfford Still, and Barnett Newman, the Color Field movement was born when artists began to break away from the gesture and angst of abstract expressionism, opting instead to examine the subtleties of clear surfaces and pure color.

Fast-forward about 50 years to a new DVD released by minimalist label Line. The limited-to-1000 Colorfield Variations takes Color Field’s central ideas and reinterprets them with stunning audio-visual mood pieces created by a host of critically acclaimed artists from all across the globe. Wonderfully assembled by curator and sound artist Richard Chartier, the DVD is an excellent way for viewers to absorb the Color Field movement from all spectrums—from the warm and milky deluge of vibrant oranges and reds bleeding into one another in Steve Roden's 13-minute "Dark Over Light Earth" to the three-dimensional world of skittering neon blocks in Tina Frank and General Magic’s "Chronomops."

The music accompanying each of the pieces comes from a wide array of experimental sounds, from drone and ambient to the clicks, gurgles, and pops of borderline-IDM. Ryoichi Kurokawa’s masterpiece “Scorch” blends blurred, origami-like geometry in pinks, pastels, and carnation colors to a fuzzy, ambient soundscape. Crinkly shapes multiply like bacteria on a microscope lens, crunching and fizzling as new transparent bodies dissolve and reappear over them. "Chronomanic Redux," by Throbbing Gristle members Chris Carter and Cosey Fanni Tutti, is another beauty, both aurally and visually. During the piece, a giant block of rich red inches down the screen to what sounds like an orchestra conducted by ghosts. As more classical-sounding instrumentation makes its way into the thick blanket of drone and whir, the red block becomes textured and flows like debris slithering across an ocean floor. ..."

*the Colorfield Variations DVD is available for purchase, so I am not able to verify how many cities have actually screened the thing....

thursday thursday thursday

2010-03-02T12:09:00.003-05:00

Coupla' cool events going down this Thursday, March 4 in downtown Lex:

MARE VACCARO exhibit at INSTITUTE 193
MULTIPLE PERSONALITIES
OPENING RECEPTION: MARCH 4, 2010
6 - 9 PM

In honor of Women’s History Month, Institute 193 presents Multiple Personalities, a solo-exhibition by Mare Vaccaro focusing on her use of “self-portrait” photography. According to Institute 193 director Philip March Jones, Vaccaro's work explores “evolving notions of femininity, beauty, adornment and identity.”

“Vaccaro has alopecia universalis, a medical condition that renders her body completely hairless,” Jones continues. “She is thus able to manipulate her physical body as a blank canvas,adorning herself with various found and constructed objects. The result is a series of startling and beautiful images depicting the deconstructed female form in various settings and portrayed as different characters or personalities. The pressure to adorn oneself is satisfied in Vaccaro’s work, calling into question the most basic standards of beauty and gender roles The final product is a gleeful triumph of the individual over society’s expectations or a revelatory acceptance of its overwhelming pressure.”

Institute 193 is located at 193 North Limestone.

-----------------

Also on Thursday, March 4: "Music of the folk" at Gumbo Ya Ya.

From the North of Center news desk:

"If there’s anything the past several years have reminded us of, it’s that when things get screwy, it’s the folk who always get fucked: Ninth-warders in New Orleans, holler residents in Appalachia, prison inmates, gypsies across Europe, refugees in Haiti, Iraq, Afghanistan and other locales of natural and human destruction, and the list goes on.

This Thursday night (March 4) at Gumbo Ya Ya’s some damn fine musicians will be coming together to play and share some of the wonderful music that has arisen through these all-too-common fucked-folk experiences: songs of love, anger, resistance and humor played through a variety of intersecting instruments, dialects and experiences.

Right now, on tap to play songs new and old are Karly Higgins of the Clack Mountain String Band (mountain folk), Chris Sullivan and Warren Byrom of the Swells and Big Maracas (New Orleans, Cuban and Brazilian folk), and Wes Houp (desparate country blues folk). If you feel you can contribute your unique voice, please join the fray.

Things will be loose, as good music often is.

Show is free. Doors open at 8:00 PM. Music should start sometime around 9:00. If you’re hungry, $5 will get you a refillable bowl of Ya Ya’s goodies (with at least one veggie option). If you’re thirsty, there will be $2 Abitas.

The downtown Gumbo Ya Ya’s is located on Main Street in the same building as the old A1A (and 2nd Dame location).

For those interested in getting the whole folk treatment, head on down to Bluegrass Community and Technical College at 5:00 to watch The U.S. vs. John Lennon, a documentary about the working class politics of the former Beatle. Wes Houp will talk and play a couple songs after the movie. Viewing is located in BCTC’s Oswald Auditorium, located directly in front of UK’s Commonwealth Stadium. Film starts at 5:15."

wrfl presents...NO AGE

2010-03-02T09:46:00.004-05:00

WRFL 88.1 will celebrate the installation of its long-awaited new tower with a big (free! all ages!) party on April 23rd, with everyone's favorite Los Angeles experimental noise-punk duo NO AGE booked to head up the party.

As you may know, WRFL got permission from the FCC a few years back to upgrade its signal from 250 watts to 7900 watts. A new transmitter was installed about a month ago, providing a significantly cleaner, clearer signal all over Lexington, and with the new tower (which is scheduled to be installed on top of UK's Patterson Office Tower during Spring Break this month), WRFL will reach folks in Versailles, Georgetown, Midway and Stamping Ground. You can compare the current reach of the signal to the projected reach of the signal. More info about WRFL and all that stuff here.)

The spring celebration will take place at the BAR Lexington/Gumbo Ya Ya compound on Main Street. As you may have heard, the spot (where the new old Dame was until it closed last year) is now being operated by J.D. McHargue. McHargue used to own Blue Moon, but more importantly he used to co-own Breeding's, a premium Lexington music venue in the '80s that hosted shows by Warren Zevon, Ray Charles, Koko Taylor and many others.

It's been my impression that the Main Street space – which is actually super cool, with 4-5 different rooms/bars and a really great back patio – has been victim of poor management (or maybe just poor taste) almost the entire time I have been in Lexington. Definitely excited to see what McHargue & his team will do with it - he's already won points by many in moving Gumbo Ya Ya and the Class A booking/management skills of Ross Compton to the complex. (Gumbo Ya Ya has hosted a number of shows on its own in recent weeks, including a stellar performance last week by avant Euro jazz duo Peter Brontzman and Fred Lonberg Holm (reviewed by Walter Tunis here.)

Mark April 23 on your calendar....more band announcements and details forthcoming!

SILVER MT. ZION coming to Kentucky

2010-02-25T12:59:00.003-05:00

Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra (formerly known as the A Silver Mt. Zion, Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra and Tra la la Band and a number of other iterations) are playing at Newport's Southgate House on May 25. In the band's blog they mention a stop in Louisville. It appears they were confused (unless the 'ville screwed that pooch), but we'll forgive them, they're Canadian, and awesome.

Silver Mt. Zion features members of (currently defunct) Godspeed You! Black Emperor. They maintain the gorgeous neo-classically orchestrated post rock-informed instrumental crescendos sound, with lots of strings and things, but with the addition of warbly punk-inspired vocals. I'm not always a fan of said vocals, but their live show is an powerful experience to behold. I caught them in Nashville a couple years back and have been jonesin' to see them again since. Apparently they've lost three of the eight members they had on that tour, but I still have high hopes.

here's a video from the 2008 tour...

Their new album Kollaps Tradixionales came out February 16, and if you're gonna grip it online, do so whilst still supporting CD Central here. (I'd recommend holding out for the vinyl.)

Tickets for the Southgate House show are $12 and you can get them here.

In related news, S-gate House has the best-looking spring line-up of any regional venue, in my book. Other shows of possible interest they're bringing in this season:

Jedi Mind Tricks - March 30
Mission of Burma - April 7
Weedeater - April 6
Neil Hamburger - April 22
Frightened Rabbit - May 6
Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings - May 17

P.S. Silver Mt. Zion's FAQ page is the best.

Of Montreal to play Buster's..?????

2010-02-25T12:45:00.003-05:00

Buster's has announced they will make an exciting announcement in the next hour or two. Here's the teaser they gave us on Spacebook:

Yes, I am announcing that Buster's has announced that an announcement will come soon. Hold tight, kittens....

teeth mountain members make Judge Judy appearance

2010-02-24T15:48:00.003-05:00

Thanks to resident CourtTV expert James Friley for pointing out that Kate Levvitt from Baltimore weirdo band Teeth Mountain made a classic appearance on Judge Judy this week, claiming charges against a guy who threw multiple TV sets on her poor (now deceased) cat.

Teeth Mountain played in Lexington at The Void Skateshop last October w/ Hair Police in conjunction with Boomslang. Super awesome heavy tribal drone psych with crazy videos. If you're not familiar with the band, get there, they rule. I don't care if the JJ stunt was fixed, this somehow makes me a bigger fan of theirs. Great publicity stunt, dudes!

One World Film Festival begins this week

2010-02-22T11:10:00.005-05:00

Now in its 12th year, the 2010 Lexington One World Film Festival begins this Thursday, February 28, with the Academy-award winning Japanese film Departures. Through the end of March, a different film will be shown each Thursday at the Kentucky Theatre and each Sunday at the downtown library theatre.

Films were chosen to stimulate discussion and increase understanding about issues regarding race, identity and ethnicity. They range from poignant to uplifting to humorous. All films are free and open to the public.

For a schedule of films click here; for a descriptions of the films that will be shown, click here.

weekend picks

2010-02-18T14:10:00.002-05:00

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 19
Gallery Hop!

J. Todd Dockery and Bruce Burris at Gallerie Soleil (363 W. Short St.)
Opening reception for Dingfutzer (art by L.A. artist Justin Christopherson) at LOT (527 E. 3rd St.), 7-11 pm. Featuring DJs Sa-riot (yours truly) and L-Bizzle.
Kisses at the Gate - painting inspired by local poets (+ live reading from Holler Poets) at Sisohpromatem (651 West Short St.)
Bluegrass Printmaker's Co-Op presents The Process of Printmaking at ArtsPlace (161 N. Mill)

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 20

DorkBotLex #11 at Reynolds building Room 101, 5pm
Cross/Soft Openings/The Gudwalls at The Void. 8 pm, all ages ~heavy garage psych~
The Ravenna Colt CD Release Party at Natasha's ~ new alt-country/folk project headed by My Morning Jacket member Johnny Quaid

ATP initial line-up

2010-02-12T11:46:00.003-05:00

Almost forgot that All Tomorrow's Parties New York (September 3-5; Labor Day weekend) was announcing its line-up today!! Naturally, it's pretty tasty so far. MOST SUPERIOR FESTIVAL IN THE WORLD? Highly likely.

The guest curator for Sunday, September 5 is director Jim Jarmusch, whose most recent movie, 'The Limits of Control,' has a KICK-ASS heavy-drone soundtrack, featuring SUNN0))), Boris and Earth (Brian Jonestown Massacre and Raekwon are his picks so far - Raekwon being Wu-Tang member, and having performed on the soundtrack to Jarmusch's film Ghost Dog, one of my favorites). I'm sure he'll be announcing some sweet additions soon.

OTHER CONFIRMED ACTS:

Iggy & The Stooges - Performing Raw Power
Sleep - Performing Holy Mountain
Mudhoney - Performing Superfuzz Bigmuff + Early Singles
The Scientists - Performing Blood Red River (First Ever U.S. Show!)
Sonic Youth
Explosions In The Sky
The Breeders
Fuck Buttons
The Books
Papa M
APSE
Raekwon
The Brian Jonestown Massacre

This is the third year ATP has shared its festival with North America. (Maybe someday in the future they'll give the midwest a little love? Eh?)

In the meantime, check their website for more info about ATP New York and all kinds of European shows I'm green with envy over.

In other fun festival news ~ BOOMSLANG 2010 is in the early planning stages :) Stay tuned for more details in the next month or so.

Ear X Tacy owner addressing 'potential changes'

2010-02-12T10:23:00.004-05:00

As you may have heard, Ear X Tacy owner John Timmons is addressing the future of his 25-year-old Louisville music store at a press conference right now. To follow live updates, check out @wfplnews on Twitter....

The press release foreshadowing the press conference can be found at Backseat Sandbar.

UPCOMING LEXINGTON SHOWS I'M PSYCHED ON

2010-02-10T21:43:00.004-05:00

2/12 - Valentine's Cabaret feat. Ford Theatre Reunion/Burning House Sideshow/Hula Hoop Dancers @ Buster's (Lex.) A Carny-fun time!!

2/23 - Peter Brontzmann; Fred Longberg-Holm @ Gumbo Ya Ya (Lex.) seriously visceral jazz.... (NOTE ~ this show is NOt on the 28th as I had originally noted for some reason)

2/28 - Cold Cave w/ Hair Police @ Al's Bar (Lex.) weird....

2/28 - Mouth of the Architect/Everyone Lives Everyone Wins/Holy Mountains/Ohlm @ The Void (Lex.) heavy....

3/9 - Everyone Lives Everyone Wins/Camp Cougar Melon/ Junk Thought @ The Cat'd Den (Lex.) Camp Cougar melon = new Farris/Beatty/Fareed/Trevor project.

2/20 - The Ravenna Colt @ Natasha's (Lex.) solid new indie-alt-country-folk featuring Johnny Quaid (original member of My Morning Jacket) and local drummer Daniel Mohler and former Lexington guitarist Phil Carlson (of Abdomen/Roger White's Electric Heat/Zombie Cowboys/Other Brothers, etc.)

2/20 -Soft Openings/CROSS @ Void Skateshop (Lex.) Lovely Asheville weirdness meets Lexington psych/no wave darkos

3/24 - Awesome Color; Tyvek @ Al's Bar (Lex.) YES PLEASE

5/6 - Baby Dee w/ Everyone Lives Everyone Wins (acoustic set) @ Niles Gallery (Lex. - UK Campus - Fine Arts Library) Possibly the local show of the year? ELEW show will be acoustic

Mastodon playing Lexington in May

2010-02-09T12:02:00.003-05:00

Progressive metal giants MASTODON have announced their 2010 tour dates, with their final date at Buster's in Lexington (May 22). Rumors have been flying about this show for weeks and while Buster's hasn't yet posted it on their site (not surprising, those guys have day jobs and shizz) I think we can assume it's a go for now.

All tour dates (listed below) are with Baroness and Valient Thorr. My friends in the local metal scene will be psyched. Hell, I'm psyched. Mastodon rules. See you there.

Here's Mastodon's LOL-funny intro to the Aqua Team Hunger Force movie.

4/16/2010 Charleston, SC Music Farm
4/17/2010 Raleigh, NC Lincoln Theater
4/18/2010 Richmond, VA The National
4/20/2010 Baltimore, MD Rams Head
4/21/2010 Sayreville, NJ Starland Ballroom
4/22/2010 Hartford, CT Webster
4/23/2010 Worcester, MA Palladium - NEW ENGLAND METAL FEST
4/24/2010 Burlington, VT Higher Ground
4/26/2010 Pittsburgh, PA Palace Theater
4/27/2010 Rochester, NY Water Street
4/29/2010 Grand Rapids, MI Orbit Room
4/30/2010 Indianapolis, IN Vogue
5/1/2010 Columbia, MO Blue Note
5/3/2010 Albuquerque, NM Sunshine Theater
5/4/2010 Tucson, AZ Rialto
5/5/2010 San Diego, CA House Of Blues
5/7/2010 Pomona, CA Fox
5/8/2010 The Missing Link Is Coming To Oakland, CA Stay Tuned
5/9/2010 Reno, NV Knitting Factory
5/10/2010 Eugene, OR McDonald Theater
5/11/2010 Spokane, WA Knitting Factory
5/13/2010 Billings, MT The Shrine
5/14/2010 Fargo, ND The Venue
5/15/2010 Omaha, NE Sokol Hall
5/16/2010 Lawrence, KS Liberty Hall
5/18/2010 Madison, WI Orpheum
5/19/2010 Urbana, IL Canopy Club
5/20/2010 Memphis, TN Minglewood
5/21/2010 Knoxville, TN Valarium
5/22/2010 Lexington, KY Busters

New release from Louisville punk icons The Endtables

2010-02-03T14:55:00.007-05:00

A press release from the good folks at Drag City Records today confirmed a rumor that underground punk fans had been crossing their fingers over for months: the release of a CD containing a collection of songs by '70s Louisville punk band The Endtables, including six studio recordings and six unreleased live tracks.

From Drag City:

"The Endtables were the crazed brainchild of guitarist Alex Durig, brooding chess-master of the amplified freak-out, and singer Steve Rigot, a flamboyant transgender giant from the shores of southern Indiana who reinvented himself as a Warhol Factory superstar. Like Scarlett O’Hara wrapped in a green velvet curtain, Rigot crafted his own glamorous reality from what was available in the blasted cultural landscape of 1970’s Kentucky. Gold spray paint, duct tape, Ace bandages ... a spectacularly other trailblazer who caused folks to toss their received ideas of beauty twenty years before Gossip’s Beth Ditto.

The band first took the stage in late 1978 and was finished by the summer of 1980. In the fall of 1979 they recorded six tracks at a Louisville studio, four of which came out on a 7” EP on their own Tuesday Records. The two remaining tracks (“White Glove Test” and “Trick or Treat”) were issued as a single on Self Destruct records in 1991. Both records are among the most sought-after of any American punk releases—treasures more talked about than seen, passed like secret gospels on disintegrating cassette tapes.

Now the secret is revealed and a star restored. The present CD collects for the first time The Endtables’ six studio recordings, six unreleased live tracks, and never-before-seen video footage of the band in performance. This new release is mastered from the original tapes—long believed lost, but recently discovered in a basement in Louisville’s South End. (The three Endtables songs that appeared on the compilation Bold Beginnings: An Incomplete Collection of Louisville Punk, 1978-1983 were transferred from vinyl.) The package also includes many previously unpublished photos, extensive liner notes, and Steve Rigot’s un-freaking-believable lyrics.

It’s all just in time for the original EP’s thirty-year anniversary, but this is no period piece. It’s pure American weirdness, as jaw-dropping today as the day it was recorded. In other words, timeless. Nothing could be more modern than Steve Rigot’s remote, sly singing style set against Alex Durig’s frenzied guitar outbursts, while drummer Steve Jan Humphrey and bassist Albert Durig (age fifteen!) bring the monster bam-bam jams. The band rocks its fevered vision to such a ferocious degree we’re sure you’ll agree they stand giant shoulder to giant shoulder with the greats. It’s the missing stone-cold jewel in your crown and a sound that will burn its way into your brain."

Check your local record store for the album circa April 20; in the meantime, c heck 'em out on MySpace.

Daniel Martin Moore and Ben Sollee to play Cd Central

2010-02-03T10:02:00.002-05:00

Wednesday, February 17

Daniel Martin Moore and Ben Sollee CD Release Party at CD Central

CD Central's first in-store show of the year will feature two of Kentucky's finest and most quickly rising songwriters, Lexington's Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore. Their new album "Dear Companion" features songs that play homage to their home state, exploring the effects of coal mining on Appalachia in particular. Produced by My Morning Jacket's Jim James and recorded in Lexington at Shangri-La studios, this true Kentucky Proud product is garnering national attention and will be available at the show. The show is FREE and all ages. 6 p.m. 377 South Limestone. Information courtesy of cdcentralmusic.com

Vote for your favorite Doers Community Film

2010-02-02T16:24:00.005-05:00

The Lexington Film League, an organization created last year to support and promote cinematic arts in Lexington, recently hosted a contest asking Lexingtonians to document the things that people are doing in their community. The submission criteria was otherwise vague - just find someone is your community who is doing something, and create a five minute video about it. The entries are in ~ more than 20 of them, covering a diverse base of individuals and organizations in and around Lexington. You can view all of the entries here at YouTube, and vote for your favorite by e-mailing lexfilmleague@gmail.com (include the title of the video in the e-mail).

The 10 winning "Doers Community Films" will be screened at Natasha's Bistro on Friday, February 26, and an awards ceremony will commence that evening as well, with awards including a People's Choice Award (decided by viewers the day of the event) and People's Choice Award (decided upon by a panel of judges). Doors at 6 p.m., with the screening starting at 6:30 (free and open to the public). Voting will continue through the day of the awards.

For more information on the Lexington Film League - including information about current workshops and upcoming contests - visit www.lexingtonfilmleague.org.

Weekend Haps

2010-01-29T16:06:00.005-05:00

The DON'T MISS SHOW of the Weekend award goes to......

The N.E.C. with Jovantaes
Saturday, January 30 at Al's Bar

You might know the N.E.C. as that band from Atlanta that comes through Lexington a couple times a year, plays a show that is somehow connected to Reid Small (guitarist/vocalist Cyrus Shahmir is a Bowling Green grade school buddy of his), absolutely slays, and then sticks around to party hard with the hipsters all night. Admittedly, I've had to miss their past couple shows, which makes me doubly to triply excited for this one. The N.E.C. is psychedelic garage rock done right. Their songs and recordings are tight, professional and sound great (I play the hell out of Million Minks on my radio show) but their live show is a different beast altogether - loud, unabashed, fast and generally raucous. This show is a CD release party for their newest album, "Is" which may be their best stuff yet. BUY IT. Or at least go the show.

Ever-changing, always awesome local acid rockers Jovantaes share the bill, along with the Gudwalls and Trailblazer. All ages. Nevermind the Northside Dance Party for the (oh so mature) 21+ crowd coincides next door at Sidecar circa midnight.

also happening in Lex this weekend:

Friday, January 29:

Big Maracas at Al's Bar
Lion's Rampant/Seedy Seeds/Super Stupid at Green Lantern

Saturday, January 30:

Haitian Benefit Concert at Cosmic Charlie's featuring Coralee and the Townies, Get Down Watson, Matt Duncan, The Yellowbelts and Goodbye Congregation. $7 / 21+
Haitian Benefit Concert at Natasha's featuring The City and The Town

Sunday, January 31

Bluegrass Collective at Cosmic Charlie's. 21+
LYLAS and One for the Time at Al's Bar (presented by YouAintNoPicasso)

COMING SOON (also a don't miss!):
Thursday, February 4:
WRFL presents...Mountains, Tape and Kraken Fury at Al's Bar. (Ambient electronic bliss.)

back in the saddle

2010-01-25T22:35:00.003-05:00

Hi,
I've been out of town for the past week + and since I won't have much time this week for any Lexington music/culture-related posts, I figured I would reward my faithful readers with a link to some vacation photos from Hawaii instead! How's that for a deal?! I'll probably be posting more soon ~ got a sweet camera for Christmas so hopefully I'll be posting lots more photos on this blog in the future. My Flickr account is brand new, so if you have one and wanna make contact or friends or whatever the flickr lingo is, I'd prolly be cool with that. Hope erryone is well.

P.S. Hawaii is seriously, seriously rad....!

Christopher Lee announces "symphonic metal" album

2010-01-13T10:03:00.002-05:00

87-year-old British actor Sir Christopher Lee, perhaps best known for his uncanny performances as Count Dracula in numerous films throughout the '50s and '60s (he also played Saruman in the Lord of the Rings trilogy; my favorite Lee movies include The Wicker Man and Devil Rides Out), has announced a new chapter in his career: METAL.

TWO GREAT LEXINGTON ART SHOWS at week's end

2010-01-11T22:26:00.005-05:00

WE WILL SOMEDAY SOMEDAY WE WILL
Institute 193 - 193 N. Limestone
Opening Reception: Thursday, January 14 ~ 6-9 pm
Featuring a performance by Holler Poets founder Eric Sutherland at 7:30 pm

Exhibit runs through February 20

The first solo exhibition in more than a decade from Bruce Burris ~ multi-media artist/founder & coordinator of ELandFGallery Small Projects Accelerator/ co-founder of Latitude Artist Community/ all-around invaluable asset to the Lexington community & art scene.

"This amalgam of new work includes sculpture, drawing, painting and installation dealing with the subjects of mountaintop removal, rural-Southern community dynamics and the tremendous importance of activism in function of these movements. These issues have traditionally been treated as geographically specific concerns but are increasingly viewed as essential aspects of the larger 'green movement.'

Burris, a native of Delaware, is working with this material as an interested observer, employing an established aesthetic to further these broadening conversations visually and intellectually. Burris’ visual material is structured as scaffolding supported by language and carries an immense potential for both action and interaction."
-Philip March Jones, Creative Director, Institute 193

--------------------

Jacob Isenhour’s Living in Grandmom’s Basement

Land of Tomorrow Gallery

527 E 3rd St

Friday, 15 January 2010: Gallery Closing Party

7pm - 11pm

"Land of Tomorrow Gallery presents LIVING IN GRANDMOM’S BASEMENT, an installation exhibit by Lexington artist Jacob Isenhour that presents the found objects of the artists' grandmother's basement in conjunction with a painterly eye for the aesthetic potential of everyday space. Isenhour works to define the gallery, conceptually and otherwise, in relation to the tension between the lines of an unfinished holding area and a space where art is created and displayed. The artist describes the show as “…visually pleasing contemporary art for the layman,” and his exhibit will be showing in conjunction with Jaye Rhee's video installation work."

upcoming Show Preview

2010-01-10T20:50:00.003-05:00

I finally updated my Upcoming Shows Page ~ spring show announcements are starting to trickle in from around the area...please post any that I've missed in the comment section or e-mail kyblueline@gmail.com.

Among the particulars I'm looking forward to in the area:

The NEC with Jovantaes at Al's Bar - Saturday January 30. Seriously awesome garage psych.
Mountains; Tape at Al's Bar on Thursday, February 4. Minimal acoustic ambience from New York (Mountains) and Sweden (Tape). Really gorgeous stuff (I am especially partial to Tape) - give it a listen.
RJD2 at The Southgate House (Sat., Feb 6) and Headliner's (Sun.,Feb 7). Nasty DJ beats. His performance at the Dame a few years back was quite a memorable evening.
Kurt Vile at Southgate House on Monday, February 15. One of the best lo-fi songwriters I've seen. His album Childish Prodigy definitely made the 2009's Year's Best List I never published. Maybe I'll do that before 2010 passes me by. (Note: Vile has rather strangely paired with experimental/hardcore group Fucked Up, who released an 18-minute song a few years back that I loved called Year of the Pig, on this tour; it appears Fucked Up is headlining so be sure to get there early!)
Hair Police and Cold Cave at Al's Bar on February 28. Enough said.
Awesome Color with Tyvek at Al's Bar, Wednesday, March 24. Lo-fi noise-punk with a psychedelic edge.
Mission of Burma at Southgate House on Wednesday, April 7. Art punk of the highest caliber.
The Black Lips at Headliner's on Thursday, April 8. Atlanta flower-punk . They might be assholes in real life but they put on a badass live show.
Acid Mother's Temple at Cosmic Charlie's on Wednesday, April 16. Japanese psychedelic/noise freak-fest.

R.I.P. Vic Chesnutt (a bit late)

2010-01-04T14:39:00.003-05:00

Vid Chesnutt, 1964-2009

Vic Chesnutt performs "Coward" at the Southgate House in November, with instrumentation by Guy Picciatto and members of Thee Silver Mt. Zion Tra-la-la Memorial Band (or whatever they recently elongated their name into).
Not the greatest video, but the audio is pretty decent.

Soooo, I just found out Vic Chesnutt died on Christmas Day, from an apparent suicidal overdose. (I know I'm a bit slow to the punch here. Seriously, have not looked at the computer since before Christmas.) In addition to bumming me out considerably, this news, rather morosely, makes his appearance at the Southgate House this past November my "kick yourself in the arse for not going" show of 2009. (Did anyone go to this show?? Pictures/review?? I think I found out about it 2 days in advance...)

I admit my knowledge of Chesnutt, described by one writer for tinymixtapes as the "dark horse of southern gothic dark horses," is extremely finite and young. After a rather prolific career that spanned over two decades, he just appeared on my radar last year, after I discovered that he was a) involved with Dark Night of the Soul, the bizarre David Lynch/Danger Mouse/Sparklehorse collab that never quite panned out, and b) that out he was playing with Guy Picciatto of Fugazi and members of Thee Silver Mt. Zion and Godspeed You! Black Emperor on his '09 tour.

After researching, I quickly realized that I had missed some kind of boat; this guy should have been on my radar earlier. He's recorded more than 15 albums since 1990, a couple of which Michael Stipe produced, two of which he enlisted the help of Picciatto and members of Mt. Zion/Godspeed (2007's North Star Deserter and 2009's At The Cut). Hell, he even played with Widespread Panic on a couple of albums, approximately around the same time I was dabbling in the jam band experience myself.

Chesnutt told The A.V. Club last year that his most recent album, At The Cut, often plays like a eulogy. "I'm in love with death in many ways...but I'm not ready to kill myself yet," he said.

In a wheelchair since a car accident at age 18 left him paralyzed from the waist down, Chesnutt was reportedly in tens of thousands of dollars of health care debt. The following quote was posted on R.E.M.'s website, from friend, filmmaker and family spokesman Jem Cohen, with whom Chesnutt had collaborated on a number of projects, including the 2008 art-film Evening's Civil Twilight in Empires of Tin:

The most important story to report now is not Vic’s death but a life and work overflowing with insight, humor, and yes, resilience. This, after all, was the man who wrote: “I thought I had a calling, anyway, I just kept dialing.” Sixteen extraordinary albums, five in the last couple of years; countless live shows so powerful and sublime they deeply altered the lives of those on the stage with Vic and those looking up, yes up, at him. The second most important story here has to do with a broken health care system depriving so many of the help they need to stay around and stay sane, and a society that never balks at providing more money for more wars but fights tooth and nail against decent care for its citizens. Vic’s death, just so you all know, did not come at the end of some cliché downward spiral. He was battling deep depression but also at the peak of his powers, and with the help of friends and family he was in the middle of a desperate search for help. The system failed to provide it. I miss him terribly.

* * *

Chesnutt will likely be my "first artist whose catalogue to delve backwards into" of the year. Which might take my bracing myself, as his songs, perhaps not surprisingly, are almost equally (and unbearably) raw, sad and gorgeous.

"I flirted with you all my life
Even kissed you once or twice
And to this day I swear it was nice
But clearly I was not ready...
Oh death...really, I'm not ready..."
-Vic Chesnutt, lyrics from his ballad to death, "I flirted with you all my life"

Rest in peace, Vic Chesnutt. My heart goes out to you, your friends, family, and everyone else you touched during your too-brief stay on Earth.

Vic Chesnutt's avant garde (presumably self-penned) bio
December '09 Fresh Air interview featuring Chesnutt and Picciatto

I'm back from my unnanounced vacay

2010-01-04T12:50:00.003-05:00

Hey friends....

First, apologies for my extended absence and my sub-par bloggerness- I managed to basically avoid computer screens altogether for the past two weeks, in lieu of catching up on QT with friends, family, dog, couch, food, libations, actual physical books (!), etc. I must admit, it was a lovely and rejuvenating time. Back to the grind, though.

I'd like to direct your attention to a couple of worthy efforts from fellow Lexingtonians :

Richie Wireman has posted his beautiful and dreamlike Boomslang photos in a Flickr album. As expected, he got some really fantastic images, some of the best I've seen. Check them out here.

James Friley has been picking up some of my slack in listing upcoming gigs in Lexington on his Giglist blog. Check it, regularly. While you're at it, check out Cross and ATTEMPT at the Green Lantern Wednesday.

2010, y'all. Let's do this.

Two last minute contests

2009-12-16T11:48:00.003-05:00

Contests end at 4 p.m. today. Both winners will be notified via e-mail so CHECK THAT SHIZZ between 4-5 p.m.

GARAJ MAHAL = Middle Eastern inspired jazz fusion quartet,
featuring jazz guitar/sitar virtuoso Fareed Haque.
At Cosmic Charlie's - tonight, Wed, 12/16 ~ EARLY SHOW, 7 p.m.
$10/ 21+

To win tickets to see Garaj Mahal tonight at Cosmic Charlie's, e-mail kyblueline@gmail.com telling me the best gift you're planning on giving this year.

-------------------------

Also tonight...

DEVLIN and DARKO - late show at Cosmic Charlie's (10 p.m.) $10/ 21 +
Baltimore DJ duo best known for being part of SPANK ROCK.
Dance party all night, featuring a late-late night DJ set by Dinosaurs and Disasters.

To win a pair of tickets, e-mail kyblueline@gmail.com telling me why you need a good dance party in your life.

Review - Bill Callahan at Cosmic Charlie's

2009-12-08T17:45:00.018-05:00

Bill Callahan performed at Cosmic Charlie's in Lexington
Monday December 7, 2009
Photos courtesy of Richie Wireman

Because I’m really not into writing reviews (I may have mentioned this fact before) and because the show was 4 nights ago, because I’ve already posted about his Smogness an inordinate amount of times in the not-so-distant past, and also because it’s coming on midnight and I am not quite on holiday just yet, I’ll keep this brief (famous last words).

Bill Callahan played a mesmerizing show to a crowd of 75 or so at Cosmic Charlie’s in Lexington on Monday, the third show of his tour with two new Drag City acts Neil Morgan and Lights. Unfortunately I walked in during the last minute of Morgan's last song, so I'm not really in a place to discuss his solo set (he also played drums with Callahan during his performance). I take it that he focuses on drums & layered vocals - it sounded pretty interesting and I look forward to checking out his debut album To the Breathing World in the WRFL playbox next week.

Lights. Photos courtesy of Richie Wireman

Lights is an all-female trio originally from New York. During their set, I had their sound nailed as falling somewhere in between Espers, Fleetwood Mac and Jane’s Addiction, with maybe even a spattering of Boris (?). However, a listening of Rites, their newest album, the next day didn’t quite evoke any those metaphors ~ I’m getting more of a Scissor Sisters/Roxy Music vibe now. I can’t find much info on them, but in talking to the drummer, Linnea Vedder, I did find out that she played in Brightblack Morning Light at some point, and also that guitarist/singer Sophia has recently moved to Austin, which seems to potentially call into question their future recording/touring plans. Lights' '80s dance beats and swirling, fuzzed-out guitar riffs seemed a strange complement to Bill’s precise and painstaking songwriting (it's entirely possible, I suppose, that Bill met and took a liking to the talented and attractive Sophia in Austin?). But that didn’t cause me to enjoy their set any less.

Bill Callahan's set list - December 7, 2009

Honeymoon Child (Woke on a Whaleheart - 2007)
Bathysphere (Wild Love - 1995)
Wind & the Dove (Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle - 2009)
Distance (Dongs of Sevotion - 2001)
Jim Cain (Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle)
Rococo Zephyr (Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle)
Natural Decline (Rain on Lens - 2001)
Too Many Birds (Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle)
Eid Ma Clack Shaw (Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle)
Rock bottom Riser (A River Ain’t Too Much in Love -2005)
Say Valley Maker (A River Ain’t Too Much in Love)
Pines (A River Ain’t Too Much in Love)
ENCORE:
The Drip (?)
Let me see the Colts

Callahan didn’t have a full band with him, just Morgan on drums and himself alternating guitar and banjo. So a number of songs lacked the string accompaniment of their studio versions, but they didn't suffer. Callahan pretty much had me from the first hook of the first song, “Honeymoon Child” (from the album 2007 Woke on a Whaleheart, the first album in which Callahan dropped his Smog nomenclature and started using his Christian name). As Callahan/Smog fans can see from the set list, he mainly stuck with newer material, from the past three albums. This was fine with me, being an admitted a johnny-come-lately fan. I was never familiar with Smog. My initial Callahan experience came with the Whaleheart track "Diamond Dancer," which was really popular on WRFL a couple years back. While I've grown to appreciate the song now, the repetitive, off-kilter Americana factor really didn’t resonate with me at first. I actually recall being seriously bewildered about the fact that people whose taste I had come to trust and respect kept playing this confounded song (it's a similar sensation that I get when I find out that friends of mine like Vampire Weekend or Steely Dan - an odd, disorienting, where-the-hell-am-i sort of feeling). In fact, Diamond Dancer was so overplayed that I didn't really even give Whaleheart a chance.

But then Callahan went and released Sometimes I Wish We Were an Eagle earlier this year. And some time over the past eight months I have completely fallen in love with this album. It kind of snuck up on me - it's one of those albums that I primarily listen to when by myself, and then listen to again, and again. Admittedly, it’s really not the type of jam I typically go for, but I can probably chalk that up to the fact that I have found few contemporary songwriters who pull it off in a way that’s half as compelling as Callahan. Strangely, in some ways I felt that the show redeemed the fact that I completely flummoxed the chance to see Leonard Cohen on his most recent tour, which I have been kicking myself over all Fall. But in other ways it made me kick myself even harder, remembering how refreshing, rejuvenating, shows like this can be - stark and stripped down, no frills, relying on the power of poetry and the human voice (P.S. Bill's got one of the best voices around - in a small dark club as well as in the studio).

Throughout the evening, I kept finding myself trying to approach the show as though I had never listened to Callahan before, realizing that even though most of the crowd likely consisted of fans who were much better versed than I (and therefore may have even been disappointed that Callahan didn’t delve deeper into his 13+ album catalog), a number of the people in the crowd probably hadn't. All this really helped me formulate is that Callahan is a powerful, compelling songwriter but in a strange, can't-put-my-finger-on-it kind of way. He may have influenced a generation of lo-fi, experimental singer/songwriters, but he doesn't fit neatly in the categories of "lo-fi" or "experimental," or "Singer/songwriter" for that matter. At any given point, you don't know if he's inside the box or out. And maybe it's because of that that he has the ability to captivate the the 20-something indie-rock fans; the Greek college contingency; middle-aged, goateed men with leather jackets; experimental music enthusiasts; starving poets and amorous girls, and anyone else who stumbles in his path – seemingly without effort. His lyrics are stark but elusive. His songs are romantic with a twinge of underlying sadness. They would be as fitting in the movie Juno as in a David Lynch film. A friend who had never heard Callahan remarked during 'Natural Decline,' his favorite song of the set, that it made him feel like he was in a dive bar in Dallas. The venue manager, who was unfamiliar with Callahan before the show was booked, likened Callahan to David Berman (Silver Jews) and Willie Nelson, and remarked (more than once) that it was the best show the new bar had seen in its few months of existence.

While Callahan's songs would very well be nothing without his voice and deadpan delivery of lyrics, they are about the empty spaces, the withholdings, as much as anything else. Onstage, in those empty spaces, the moments where he's not singing, Callahan comes across as almost shy, out of his element, like he's not completely comfortable with so many eyes honed in on him. This was maybe a bit surprising, given his deep, unwavering voice, but it was somehow refreshing at the same time. At moments, he would dive into certain parts of his songs with a ferocity reminiscent of Will Oldham, shaking his head and walking in place, or kicking his heels together "jaunty like a bee"; but the mood Callahan evoked was overall reserved and stoic, closing his eyes as if channeling something from another place, and at times glancing nervously down at Matt Jordan's camera (where those pictures at, Picasso?).

Bill the dapper man Callahan
Photos courtesy of Richie Wireman

If Callahan is coming to a venue near you, go see him. I don't care what kind of music you're into.

callahan winner announced

2009-12-07T15:54:00.004-05:00

Congratulations to Brian Ronk for winning the Bill Callahan tickets tonight. Yes, Brian is a buddy of mine, but I guarantee he won the random drawing fair and square (just ask my friends who have tried to get me to rig contests in their favor - that's not how we play here at Blueline). Also congrats to Jaime Lazich who won via Smiley Pete.

Brian said if he were to have a one-word artist alter-ego (like Smog), it would be DROOL. Other notable artist one-word artist alter-ego entries I got included

Publish Post

Sweaters, Schlong and Charlemangne.

Hope to see ya there ~

Bill Callahan, Neal Morgan, Lights at Cosmic Charlie's, presented by Sprouse House Productions. 21+. $8. 9 p.m. 388 Woodland.

silly me

2009-12-07T11:36:00.004-05:00

My e-mail address is kyblueliine@gmail.com (not kyblueline@blogspot.com). Apologies if you tried to enter the Bill Callahan contest and your e-mail got rejected. Still taking entries until 3 pm or so; see entry below for details!!!

Win a pair of tix to see Bill Callahan

2009-12-04T15:45:00.005-05:00

Hey! I have a pair of tickets to give away for Bill Callahan show at Cosmic Charlie's on Monday, December 7 (21+).

Since I'm short on time (as usual), I'm just gonna copy the informational schpiel I wrote about him for the contest at Smiley Pete (which you can and should enter as well):

Bill Callahan (known at times as Smog) began his career almost 20 years ago with experimental lo-fi recordings, mostly instrumental, that he made himself. Eventually he caught the attention of Drag City Records, who signed him in 1993, and his work since then has evolved into much more clean and polished ballads that showcase his distinct baritone voice as well as his deadpan delivery of lyrics that somehow resonate equally with darkness and beauty. This beloved fixture in the indie community will be giving an intimate performance, presented by Sprouse House Productions, at Cosmic Charlie's on Monday, December 8. Lights and Neal Morgan will open.

To enter, e-mail kyblueline@gmail.com and tell me which one-word alter-ego name you would sometimes use if you were a singer-songwriter. Winner will be chosen randomly (not based on the merit of his or her response) on Monday around 3 p.m. Make sure you leave your contact info.

Terry Riley to headline Knoxville's Big Ears

2009-12-03T14:10:00.003-05:00

Big Ears 2010 - March 25, 26, 27

So, this is kinda old news.......like 2 and a half weeks old......but Knoxville avant garde music fest Big Ears has announced that experimental composer TERRY RILEY, who has been produding acclaimed minimalist compositions since the '60s, will be the Artist in Residence for it's second annual event in 2010. Ummmmm.....rad???

from the Big Ears website:
"Riley will perform several concerts during the weekend, in a variety of configurations and settings. In addition, there will be performances of several string quartets by the acclaimed Calder Quartet. Big Ears also plans to host a performance of In C with many of the other musicians performing at this year's festival."

For those unfamiliar with Big Ears, it started by promoter Ashley Capps of AC Entertainment (AKA the man behind Bonnaroo). Dude has the business sense enough to know that booking acts like Bruce Springsteen, Phish, Tool, Neil Young, Snoop Dogg, etc. will bring in the cheddar at Bonnaroo, but fortunately for the experimental music lovers, he also has the disposable income and the impeccable taste to book acts like Neil Hamburger, Fennesz, Michael Gira, Negativland, Philip Glass, Dan Deacon and Pauline Oliveros, all of whom performed at Big Ears '09. I've read some interviews in which Capps explained that his taste in music has always leant toward the avant garde/underground, and he finally found himself in a position to book a festival of the bands he really loves, despite the commercial viability of such a line-up.

The 3-day, multi-venue fest was small and manageable last year, with the biggest venue I went to, The Bijou Theatre (where Philip Glass and Michael Gira performed), holding less than 800. Venues included nightclubs, coffeeshops and art spaces, and were highly navigable, for the most part. There were a few first-year kinks, to be sure, but overall it was really well executed. I kinda feel like I owe a lot to this fest - not only did I witness one of the most stunning performances I've ever seen (Philip Glass and Wendy Sutter, OMG), but seeds for Boomslang, the WRFL festival I helped curate this past October, were definitely planted that weekend.

Big kudos to Big Ears - I look forward to the rest of the line-up and details, and I highly recommend trying to make it if it sounds at all like your bag of tea. (Last year they had tickets for individual shows available, as well as various weekend pass options.)

J.T. Dockery interview in The Comics Journal

2009-12-02T20:31:00.003-05:00

Bob Levin of The Comics Journal recently interviewed longtime staple in Lexington's underground literary/music/general weirdness faction, J. Todd Dockery. I bought his newest book, In Tongues Ilustrated, for my special gentleman friend earlier this year, and I gotta say, it's an absolute gem. Lots of love went into the production; a highly recommended gift for anyone in your life with an apprecation for dark and vulgar brilliance. (I got mine at Morris Book Shop, I bet they'd hook you up with a copy too.)

P.S. In addition to being a brooding artist/poet/graphic storyteller, JTD is also is one half garage-punk-on-crack duo The Smacks! (Can we maybe get anozzer Lex gig for the holidays, boys?)

This Week, December 2 - December 9

2009-12-02T18:14:00.005-05:00

Incredibily rushed listing of some of this week's goings on......feel free to post your event in the comment section if I left it out. xo.

Wednesday, December 2 (tonight!):

Shedding, Tiny Fights, Talk Normal at Skull Alley (Louisville) - all ages, $5. Shedding = Louisville 3-piece featuring Connor Bell, Tim Furnish and Joey Bell (all of whom, I believe, have been in the band Parlour at one point or another). Haven't had a chance to check out much of their stuff but it has described by Bell as an attempt to rearrange his melancholy singer-songwriter tunes into some sort of futuristic pop sound. Talk Normal =
Hive Jive Wednesday at The Hive Art Haus & Salon. Dance party at the newest local "rockeasy" (terminology courtesey of local radio personality Unca' Bill Widener). 156 Deweese St. 9 p.m.- midnightish, all ages, bring yer own bevvies.

Thursday, December 3:

ARA, Everyone Lives Everyone Wins, terribleMASK at Al's Bar. ARA = experimental duo featuring power couple Trevor Tremaine and Sara O'Keefe (members of Eyes and Arms of Smoke, Hair Police, ATTEMPT, and so forth). Everyone Lives Everyone Wins = Lexington drone lords make their debut at leading Lexington hipster dive (and also the public debut of some new jams). The loudest darkness in town. terribleMASK = new droney project of a local guy named Robert - don't know much about him except that he's young but has astonishingly good taste in music.
Talk Normal, White Walls, C. Spenser Yeh at Art Damage Lodge (Cincy). C. Spenser Yeh being, of course, the man behind the genius violin noise freakout project Burning Star Core.

Friday, December 4:

Benefit for Kelly Feinburg featuring Tiny Fights, Rainjunkies, Freak the Mighty and more at Al's Bar. Feinburg is a UK English professor who is battling cancer. Proceeds will benefit her family (she has a young child) and the massive medical costs that accompany the bastard disease. Good jams, a good cause.
Open Studio at UK Reynolds Building. The one night a year when the University of Kentucky's student and faculty art studio is open to the public. Great art, and a lot of it is for sale, on the cheap. Featuring dueling DJ sets by WRFLians Patrick Smith and Jamie Lazich). 6-8 pm.

Saturday, December 5:

Latin Heat, Idaho Alaska, J. Marinelli @ Al's Bar. J. Marinelli = one-man garage blues show. Latin Heat = local rock that's not afraid to actually rock. Idaho Alaska = Modest Mouse meets Pavement ~ intellectual indie with a spine.
Softcheque, Second Story Man, Straight A's at Skull Alley (Louisville). Not that familiar with Second Story Man but this is their album release party I think. I caught Softcheque recently and loved 'em - a singing saw, two female singers with amazing voices, minimal but compelling keys and drums - French-sounding femme fatale; RIYL Broadcast, Stereolab.
A Celebration for Shoeshine at The Kentucky Theatre. This memorial celebration for Louis "Shoeshine" Cobb, a downtown Lexington fixture who recently passed away, starts at 10 am and will feature a showing of the documentary "Can't Stop the Shine," created by Lexingtonian Erin Mcanallen a few years back. Food will be provided by Bourbon-n-Toulouse and a video camera will be set up for folks to share their memories of Shoeshine.
The Last Waltz at Buster's (as performed by a boatload of Lexington musicians). For more details and a chance to win tickets, visit my previous entry.

Sunday December 6:

Grandchildren, Idiot Glee, Tiny Fights at Al's Bar. Grandchildren = from Philly; RIYL Animal Collective. Tiny Fights = local psychelectronica trio (for lack of the ability to concisely describe their completely original and amazing stuff); always a really fun time. Idiot Glee = new solo experimental pop project of the illustrious James Friley (of Bedtime/SpeechBoys; co-organizer of Boomslang/ general sweet dude), who, you may have noticed, kinda blew up in the blogosphere yesterday following YouAintNoPicasso's glowing review of his new single "All Packed Up." Keep your eyes peeled for a split cassette with The Butchers, out any sec...

HALFWAY TO FORECASTLE LINE-UP

2009-12-02T13:47:00.002-05:00

The line-up for the Third Annual "Halfway to Forecastle" event, on Jan 23 has been announced. The event features a couple of firsts: the first all-electronic line-up in the festival's history as well as the first official concert in Electric Blue, a 20,000 square foot industrial warehouse space in Louisville, with artists performing on 3 stages.

From the press release:

"Advance tickets are $15 and can be purchased online at http://www.etix.com or at ear X-tacy records, located at 1534 Bardstown Rd, 40205. If available, day-of-show tickets can be purchased at the venue. Organizers note the previous two Halfway events have sold-out in advance.

For more information, please visit: http://www.ForecastleFest.com/halfway.php

Halfway to Forecastle 2010

Kid Sister

LA Riots

Trash Yourself (DJ set)

Jesse Jamz

Lady Foursquare

Kid Color

DJ Amtrak

OK DeeJays

The Disco Aliens

Jason Clark (of SKL)

Sam Gracie

The Last Waltz Ticket Giveaway

2009-12-02T09:17:00.003-05:00

A vast collection of Lexington musicians recreate The Band's The Last Waltz this Saturday, December 5 at Buster's. 8 p.m.; $10.

Recreating The Band's legendary last concert (captured by Martin Scorcese in the concert film The Last Waltz) has been an annual tradition for Lexington musicians for a number of years. The event has taken place at The Dame in the past (both locations, I do believe) and now Buster's has rightfully taken the reins. Good thing, too, because in the past, the event has tended to sell out and people have been turned away. Buster's will provide much more room to dance and belt out "The Weight" at the top of your lungs without having to scream in someone's ear (note: Blueline does not endorse loudly singing along with the band at shows).

The event is spearheaded by Tula, a Lexingtno band who doesn't play out all that often but always nails this show each year. They'll be joined by a massive all-star list of guests, including Robbie Cosenza (These United States, The Scourge of the Sea); Corey Wilson (Coralee and the Townies); Nick Stump (Metropolitan Blues All-Stars); Gabe Hensley (The Other Brothers); March Madness Marching Band and others!

Tickets are $10. If you wanna win a pair, e-mail kyblueline@gmail.com and tell me your favorite song by The Band. I'll draw a winner Friday morning so be sure to check your e-mail Friday after 10 a.m. or leave your phone number so I can contact you if you've won.

turkey day weekend happenings

2009-11-25T10:04:00.003-05:00

Wednesday, November 25

Thanksgiving Extravaganza w/ Shemale Fiesta and Goldenrod at Charlie's. Truth be told, I don't know if this band is pronounced "Shemale" as in rhymes-with-tamale, or "Shemale" as in a frightening man-girl creature. I don't think it matters. Come watch Mark Evans take his shirt off and writhe around on the floor and sing "Spottieottiedopalicious." Goldenrod will bring their R&B dance jams to the party too.

(Black) Friday November 27

The Butchers and Speech Boys at The Hive Art Haus & Salon. The Hive, Lexington's most adorable little beauty salon (on Deweese St, near Short and Elm Tree), is now regularly hosting live music & DJ dance parties. The Butchers = lo-fi 90s-style pop punk of the highest degree. Speech Boys = one part Bedtime/one part Tiny Fights = recipe for greatness? (honestly haven't heard 'em)
Englishman and Clifton Keller at Al's Bar- two of Lexington's finest songwriters and a little bourbon should warm up your Friday night. Al's is slowly becoming one of my favorite draught beer dispensaries - their selection isn't big because it doesn't have to be. They realize all you need is 2-3 really solid craft brew selections and cheap PBR.

Saturday, November 28

Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore at Red Mile Round Barn (benefit for Institute 193). Two of NPR's favorite Kentuckians. Indie cello magic (Sollee) and folksy heartstring-tuggers (Moore) should make for a lovely evening at the Round Barn. $12 in adv/$15 at the door.
Same as it Ever Was (Talking Heads Tribute) at Cosmic Charlie's. You might know by now that tribute bands aren't typically my forte, but these guys rule. Best dance party in town. Seriously, who out there doesn't like the Talking Heads?? Bring them to me. Or better yet, bring them to Charlie's Saturday and show them the light.
High Water Marks and ATTEMPT at Al's Bar. High Water Marks is the band formed by Apples in Stereo drummer Hilarie Sidney and her husband Per Ole Bratset. ATTEMPT = Trevor Tremaine's solo project (with occasional guests?). Really good stuff.
Rakadu Gypsy Dancers at Natasha's Bistro. Sexy, to be sure...yet somehow...family appropriate? As in, it might be something you AND your mom could enjoy together. Or maybe I'm just thinking it's something me and my mom could enjoy together. Anyway.
Coralee and the Townies at Lynagh's Pub. Americana twinged rock songs fronted by the lovely and talented Corey Wilson and backed by her rockin' band.

If you have others feel free to add them in the comment section...!

ACID MOTHER'S TEMPLE to play Lexington in April

2009-11-23T09:09:00.006-05:00

What has been an amazing fall to be in Kentucky is closing in and it's time to start looking forward to spring happenings. Oh, here's a good place to start...

I caught wind word of mouth this weekend that Japanese freak-out-psych collective Acid Mother's Temple had scheduled a Lexington date in April at Cosmic Charlie's. The news was a nice start to my Saturday night, which only proceeded to get awesomer from there once Shellac took the stage for a stellar show at Louisville's 930 Listening Room.

While the venue doesn't have the show on their calendar yet, Windish Agency has the AMT tour dates posted, and lo and behold, Charlie's has Wednesday April 14 on lock-down. (A big fat thank you to venue manager Mark Evans! And a 'my bad' if you were trying to keep this information to yourself for the time being for some reason.) The rest of their tour dates listed below....

Mon 03/22/10	Casbah	San Diego	CA	Over-Gain Opitmal Death
Wed 03/24/10	Bottom of the Hill	San Francisco	CA	Over-Gain Opitmal Death
Fri 03/26/10	Mississippi Studios	Portland	OR	Over-Gain Opitmal Death
Sat 03/27/10	Biltmore Cabaret	Vancouver	BC	Over-Gain Opitmal Death
Sun 03/28/10	Sunset Tavern	Seattle	WA	Over-Gain Opitmal Death
Wed 03/31/10	7th Street Entry	Minneapolis	MN	Over-Gain Opitmal Death
Thu 04/01/10	The Picador	Iowa City	IA	Over-Gain Opitmal Death
Fri 04/02/10	Empty Bottle	Chicago	IL	Over-Gain Opitmal Death
Sat 04/03/10	Crofoot Ballroom - Pike Room	Pontiac	MI	Over-Gain Opitmal Death
Sun 04/04/10	El Mocambo	Toronto	ON	Over-Gain Opitmal Death
Mon 04/05/10	La Sala Rossa	Montreal	PQ	Over-Gain Opitmal Death
Tue 04/06/10	Middle East Upstairs	Cambridge	MA	Over-Gain Opitmal Death
Wed 04/07/10	Knitting Factory - Brooklyn	Brooklyn	NY	Over-Gain Opitmal Death
Thu 04/08/10	DC9	Washington	DC	Over-Gain Opitmal Death
Fri 04/09/10	Johnny Brendas	Philadelphia	PA	Over-Gain Opitmal Death
Sat 04/10/10	Ottobar	Baltimore	MD	Over-Gain Opitmal Death
Sun 04/11/10	Local 506	Chapel Hill	NC	Over-Gain Opitmal Death
Mon 04/12/10	Pilot Light	Knoxville	TN	Over-Gain Opitmal Death
Tue 04/13/10	Grey Eagle Tavern	Asheville	NC	Over-Gain Opitmal Death
Wed 04/14/10	Cosmic Charlie's	Lexington	KY	Over-Gain Opitmal Death
Thu 04/15/10	Hi-Tone Cafe	Memphis	TN	Over-Gain Opitmal Death
Fri 04/16/10	The Loft	Dallas	TX	Over-Gain Opitmal Death
Sat 04/17/10	Emos Alternative Lounge	Austin	TX	Over-Gain Opitmal Death

Gallery 193 features Louis Beckett's Archives

2009-11-19T15:00:00.004-05:00

Louie Beckett's archives of remnants he has collected over his life will be on display at Gallery 193 during
Gallery Hop Friday.

Got this press release from Philip Jones, creative director of the new gallery Institute 193 on Limestone, and I thought I would pass on the info. The gallery's first exhibit, Louis Bickett's archived collection of *fill in the blank* ends next weekend. I've seen some of his stuff before and it is utterly fascinating. Methinks this Friday's Gallery Hop would be a good time to peep the show and check out one of Lexington's newest gallery spaces.

SELECTIONS FROM THE ARCHIVE: LAST DAY IS NOVEMBER 27
OPEN GALLERY HOP ON FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20: 5 - 9 PM

"Since 1972, Louis Zoellar Bickett II has meticulously collected and cataloged items from his daily life and assembled them into a functioning installation he refers to as: THE ARCHIVE. Photographs, dinner receipts, dog brushes, jars, binders and items of every sort are tagged and neatly placed within the 3-D collage that serves as home and studio to the artist. The archive's contents are seemingly endless and infinitely varied. Bickett's genius lies in his ability to transform the most basic object into a highly sophisticated work of art using a simple associative process. The collection, organization and archiving of everyday objects imbues them with significance beyond function or simple metaphor. Every object is tagged with a name and date, corresponding to a set of events, an idea or some larger on-going project. The object's viewer knows precisely what it is, where its from, why it was purchased, the name of its previous owner or the role that it plays in the artist's life. Its placement within the archive further secures its importance and guarantees its survival. Sculptures, photographs and paintings are tagged in the same manner (and with the same precision) as flashlights, bowling bags and hats. Certain objects are "tagged" or "stamped" several times to reflect their inclusion in several projects. The debate about "what is art" is clearly answered in Bickett's process: anything I choose. Selections from the Archive is a quick glance at a seemingly random sampling of objects. It is not intended to be a retrospective or an accounting of various projects. Indeed there are too many for a book and exhibition of this size. The intention is rather to select objects that resonate with simplicity and illuminate the artist's transformative abilities while hinting at the larger themes of sex, identity and death that permeate Bickett's work. Furiously collecting and archiving towards death, Bickett has become the central object of the archive - missing only the tag he will receive, not unlike the rest of us, upon his own death. With this book, we invite the viewer into the artist's studio for a fleeting glance at Bickett's work and the machinations of his vast and ever-growing archive.

-Phillip March Jones, Creative Director

In related news, Institute 193 is hosting a fund raiser on November 28 at the Red Mile Round Barn, featuring local cellist extraordinaire Ben Sollee and folk singer Daniel Martin Moore (both of whom have a compilation with Jim James - can't. call. him. Yim. Yames. - out in February 2010). $12 advanced/$15 door. More about Institute 193 here.

Phantom Family Halo/Invaders Preview Part 2

2009-11-19T00:32:00.004-05:00

CROSS/INVADERS/PHANTOM FAMILY HALO at AL'S BAR
601 N. Limestone
(Tonight) Thursday November 19, 2009
All Ages, $3

Sooo, I hope it didn't appear that I was trying to slight Invaders in my lengthy dealings with Phantom Family Halo last entry. I just didn't have the time to finish the entry at the moment. (And I'm also definitely not trying to slight Lexington's CROSS, I just don't have any albums of theirs to listen to & stew over, probably because they are a relatively new band and they don't have any albums. I have caught them live a couple times, though not with the current line-up, and it's always super rad and super different, just like Warmer Milks, the former band featuring Cross's Mikey T and Clint Colburn [to clarify, they don't sound just like the Milks, but they are always super rad and super different like the Warmer Milks were].)

Here's an adapted version of my review of Invaders' 'Floating' for WRFL.

I was hooked on Louisville's Invaders from the first track I heard ("Couldn't Come"), a couple months ago on their MyFace page. Lucky for all of us, their entire new album (I believe it's their first) happens to completely slay from start to finish.

This album manages to be dreamy and feel-good and dark and forboding all at the same time. The songs are tight and structured, with riffs and driving percussion, but just enough garage noise, distortion and shrieking to make it interesting (without getting too aloof). They've achieved a really sexy and sophisticated sound for being such a new band (I assume they are a pretty new band but I honestly couldn't find much history info on them). Definite 1990's British vibes – lush, dense shoegazey soundscapes shrouded in fuzzy-yet-Hope-Sandoval sounding female vocals. There's something nostalgic about it. But there's something new I can't really place.

This album got me sincerely excited for wherever it is that this band is going. Judging from the recent slew of Karate Body releases, it would appear the historically amazing underground music scene in Louisville is totally alive and well.

RIYL: Joy Division, My Bloody Valentine, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Thee Oh Sees, Tom Tom Club, Atlas Sound

Phantom Family Halo/Invaders Preview: Part 1

2009-11-17T22:01:00.003-05:00

This Thursday, two of Louisville's finest will bring their jams to Lexington : Phantom Family Halo and Invaders, playing with Lexington's own Cross. I've already mentioned that I've been wanting to see both bands for some time now, and fortunately the show coming up put a fire under my ass to spend some time with their new albums (both out through the magic of the increasingly impressive vinyl pressing wizards at Louisville's Karate Body Records, co-founded by Leo Weekly Music Editor Mat Heron).

I reviewed both albums for WRFL last week, so without further ado I'm gonna post adapted version of those reviews (Invaders' Floating, which I also love, to follow soon):

Phantom Family Halo - Monoliths & These Flowers Never Die

Unabashedly re-posting this video for 'Monoliths', which I also posted yesterday, because it's a great song, and at approximately 10 minutes should provide nice background music for reading the review.

The second release from Louisville neo-psychedelia masterminds Phantom Family Halo has got me pretty stoked. I’m not sure exactly what I expected from it, having never listened to their debut - I was hoping it'd be good stuff, of course, but these guys went and took it to the next level, creating what is seriously one of the most diverse and surprising albums I've heard in a while.

Throughout the 18-song duration, there are blatant nods to Bowie, Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd - which are stupid-generic influences, I know, but don’t be misled. Yes, Phantom Family Halo borrows the glam, the heavy riffs, the acid-drenched ambiance from bands that we all know for a) introducing many of us to music in the first place, and b) proceeding to become so oversaturated on classic rock channels everywhere that the up-and-coming generation of hipsters seem to all but dismiss them. As a defender of classics, I applaud Phantom Family Halo for this rather ballsy move – they’ve reverted to the roots of '70s rock in a way that many bands seem too cool to do, but by no means do they dwell there (or anywhere, for that matter) for too long. From there, they rather effortlessly traverse straight into some futuristic time and place, leaving no real evidence of having traveled through or been affected by all the genres and sub-genre spin-offs that have popped up and keeled over between these two places. It gives the album a certain timelessness that is somehow disorientating and invigorating at once.

The songs vary from minimalist instrumentals to feral heavy metal to experimental lullabyes, but the overall ambiance is dark and apocalyptic, like some sort of science fiction or occult soundtrack (though I’m pretty sure there’s also a rock opera hiding in there somewhere).

With this album, Phantom Family Halo have distinguished themselves as artistic and psychedelic in a genre that tends to be characterized by (too much) fuzz, distortion, noodling and general f-ing around – Monoliths has those elements, don't get me wrong, but they seem to be much more controlled and intentional than in much of the neo-psychedelica that's come out in recent years. Further, this album, which the band recorded themselves in various locations, is refreshingly clean and sharply-produced – layered and complex without sounding like it’s hiding from some element of itself.

Founded by members of Sapat and The For Carnation, Phantom Family Halo are currently gearing up for a 12-date tour opening for Louisville's Young Widows and Russian Circles, including a record release party with Softcheque at Zanzabar in Louisville on November 25. Their Lexington show with Invaders and Cross (Al's Bar, tomorrow! - Thursday November 19) is the band's first show since drummer Tony Bailey, a longtime fixture in the Louisville music scene, unexpectedly passed away in October. The band decided recently that vocalist Dominic Cipolla (of Sapat), who has played stand-up drums in the band in the past, would take on the percussive roles for this tour. "This band has always been an ever-changing live situation," Cipolla said. "Every tour has been different and keeps us interested."

RIYL: Witch, Black Mountain, David Bowie, Hawkwind.

This Week, November 17 - 23

2009-11-17T11:06:00.001-05:00

It's been a minute since I did a This Week Post. (thanks for bearing with me.) Here's my picks for the week, there's lots & lots going on...

Tuesday, Nov 17:

Outside the Spotlight presents KLANG: Chicago jazz quartet featuring clarinetist James Falzon, percussionist Tim Daisy (who has performed in Lex a number of times with the Vandermark 5), bassist Jason Roebke and vibraphonist Jason Adasiewicz. Read Walter Tunis' preview here.
Balagula Theater presents "The Bald Sporano" at Natasha's Bistro (through Wed.) Balagula Theater, Natasha's Bistro's in-house theater company, has consistently been presenting the most daring and unique stage productions in Lexington for years, but 2009-2010 marks their first official "season," a 4-production exploration of absurdist and existentialist plays of which Eugene Ionesco's "The Bald Sporano" is the second installment (following September's "B is for Beckett"). Written in the '50's, "The Bald Soprano" is an absurdist comedy in the vein of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" (a movie I love, though I have yet to seen it performed on stage), touching on the banality of everyday existence and human communication...I saw it last night and absolutely loved it. The play itself (which I was unfamiliar with) is completely hilarious; the phenomenal acting, direction and set design all topped it off. I wouldn't say it's for everyone - the humor is British, and waaaaay left-field British at that (even though the playwright was French Romanian; weird) and there's a point where the entire play falls off its rocker altogether. But if you're looking for a unique theater experience that forces you to step outside your comfort zone, this comes highly recommended. Stay tuned for Sarte's "No Exit" in February/March and Aruthur Kopit's "Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Momma Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feeling So Sad." Dinner seating from 5:30 -6:45/ Theater seating at 7:30/ Curtains at 8/ $15.

Wednesday, Nov 18:

Holler Poets Series: The 19th (!) monthly installment of the hugely successul Lexington litereary series features readers Renee Rigdon and Jude McPherson (founder of Blacoetry Press). Music by Karly Dawn Higgins of the Clack Mountain String Band. Open mic starts at 8 with limited slots, so show up early if you want to sign up.
Alexa Woodward/The Rainjunkies at Buster's. One of the preliminary "Front Room Shows" at Buster's, inspired in part by the intensely fun front room shows at Boomslang that included Ga'an, Peaking Lights, Tiny Fights, Caboladies and Burning Star Core. Alexa Woodward = angelic banjo picking songwriter from NYC who has been compared to Gillian Welch, Jolie Holland and Judy Garland. Rainjunkies = solid Lexington-flavored indie rock with just a tinge of twang. The show is FREE, pool tables will be open and inside sources tell me "it will legitimately start around 9:00."

Thursday, Nov 19:

Phantom Family Halo/Invaders/Cross at Al's Bar. Phantom Family Halo and Invaders are two Louisville bands who I have been wanting to see live for quite some time now. So I was obviously psyched when they approached me to help get them both on a bill here in Lex. I'll be doing a more full blown show preview soon, but in the meantime know that they are both psych-influenced rock bands (most generic description ever?) and they are both seriously, seriously rad. Listening to the new albums by both bands (Invader's 'Floating' and Phantom Family Halo's 'Monoliths & These Flowers Never Die,' both out on Louisville's Karate Body Records) has restored my faith that the Louisville underground music scene continues to pump out severely original and exciting music. Maybe one day I'll be motivated enough to spend the time to figure out how to post songs on my posts (I openly admit my complete amateur status), but in the meantime you can check out Invaders here and PFH here. Oh yeah....Lexington's own CROSS featuring members of Warmer Milks and Tight Leather will open. SEE YOU THERE.

Friday, November 20:

GALLERY HOP - I admit I don't know much about what's going on for the November Gallery Hop, but photographer Richie Wireman's "Visual Block" Exhibit is essential. Wireman, in case you didn't know, is one of the greatest artistic assets to Lexington - he documents an incredible amount of events, and he does it beautifully and tirelessly. At the Thriller Zombie Parade this Halloween (one of the craziest events of the year, by the way - where did those people come from???), I spotted him walking backwards with the parade, and walking quickly, snapping two cameras simultaneously. Anyway, this exhibit, which has been in the works for quite some time, is his documentation of The Dame/Centrepointe block, "as it was and as it is." Photographs as well as relics he salvaged from the block will be on display. Bellini's Ballroom (above Bellini's Restaurant on Main Street); 5:30 - 9:30. Dave Farris and Willie Eames will play music at 7 and again at 9.

Saturday November 21:

Benefit for Jason Noble featuring SHELLAC, Shannon Wright, The Web. In case ya didn't know, Shellac totally slays - with a line-up featuring Steve Albini and Bob Weston, I don't know that there's much else they could do. More in-depth preview from yesterday here.

Monday, November 23:

Sound/Vision perform Steve Reich's DRUMMING at Singletary Center. Last year's FreeKY fest was the first time these guys popped up on my radar. I was floored, and they have continued to impress every time I've seen them since; most recently when they opened for Rachel Grimes at the Second Presbyterian Church with video accompaniment by Jason Corder. They've performed excerpts of Reich's Drumming before, but they plan to take it to a new level this time - they actually purchased the rights to the piece and will be performing it in it's entirety. 7:30 pm. I think it's free....

Other happenings:
Tuesday, November 17 - Charlie Louvin/Dex Romweber Duo @ Cosmic Charlie's (Lex).
Friday, November 20 - R. Kelly @ The Palace Theater (Lou).
Friday, November 20 - MV & EE; Cross; A.V. @ The Palace Theater (Lou).
Saturday, November 21 - (Wooden) Wand w/ Doug Keith and Street Gnar @ Buster's (Lex.)

SHELLAC in Louisville, this Saturday

2009-11-16T10:33:00.007-05:00

"Whenever I talk to a band who are about to sign with a major label, I always end up thinking of them in a particular context. I imagine a trench, about four feet wide and five feet deep, maybe sixty yards long, filled with runny, decaying shit. I imagine these people, some of them good friends, some of them barely acquaintances, at one end of this trench. I also imagine a faceless industry lackey at the other end holding a fountain pen and a contract waiting to be signed."
~from the article "The Problem with Music" by Steve Albini, which originally appeared in Maximum Rock 'n' Roll Issue #133.

Sooo, I'm pretty sure many of you are aware I helped organize a festival in Lexington this past October called Boomslang (even though I pretty much never posted about it for some reason, which, looking back on it, I now find rather odd). Anyway, some of you probably also know that one of the bands I was most excited to score for said festival was Louisville post-rock greats Shipping News, a definite personal favorite of mine that I saw as kind of a long-shot – to my knowledge, they have been relatively reclusive over the past few years, not playing many live shows and having not released an album in a few years. Their booking agent confirmed that yes, it would be awesome, but true, I probably shouldn't hold my breath. After what must have been a couple of months after my initial feeler, Erik from Uncle Booking finally reported back to me, kind of out of the blue, that lo and behold, Shipping News were indeed interested in playing Boomslang. Much to my glee, they seemed genuinely stoked on it, sending me personal e-mails complimenting the line-up and expressing their excitement. Unfortunately, a few weeks after the show was announced, the band had to cancel their performance and also postpone their November recording plans, due to suddenly finding out about some serious health problems that had progressed with guitarist Jason Noble, who needed to immediately undergo an extensive surgery & recovery process that I believe included traveling to Texas for chemo/radiation.

Scrambling to fill their spot at Boomslang, in the midst of my sadness that the show was canceled under the crappiest of circumstances, one of the first bands that came to mind was a little band called SHELLAC. Again, a long shot, I thought – this is engineering wizard genius STEVE ALBINI'S band, after all. Not only is Albini, who founded and runs Chicago recording studio Electrical Audio, an incredibly busy dude (most epic production catalogue ever, including albums by Pixies, Nirvana, Breeders, The Jesus Lizard, Tony Conrad, Dirty Three, many more) but being versed on his stance on agents & managers and whatnot, I kind of assumed he would also be an incredibly difficult-to-get-ahold-of dude. Not to say the band wouldn't have agreed to the show, given the circumstances – I think they would have at least entertained the notion – but I saw Mission of Burma as an equally amazing and potentially more easily accessible replacement, and fortunately they jumped on it pretty much right away (and gave a performance that all but stole the entire fest). Anyway, long story short (or rather, getting to the short of an unnecessarily long story), I was obviously stoked and reaffirmed in this decision when I got word that Shellac had scheduled a benefit show for Jason Noble at Louisville's 930 Room with Shannon Wright and The Web (organized by fellow Shipping Newsian Jeff Meuller) for November 21. I got my tickets pretty much immediately, and I suggest you do the same - this is a 450 capacity venue and the show is coming up this Saturday. Tickets are $17 in advance/$20 at the door and all proceeds go to Jason and his family to help cover hefty medical costs - get them here.

SHELLAC = intense and heavy-hitting no frills math rock trio based out of Chicago featuring guitarist Steve Albini (I repeat, one of the most influential audio engineers of all time), drummer Todd Trainer and bassist Bob Weston ('live engineer and tape manipulator' of the most recent Mission of Burma incarnation; also a renowned sound engineer).

I don't know much about Shannon Wright, but she has been a frequent collaborator with Shipping News family from what I understand. The Web, also performing, appear to be in the weirdo Louisville avant garde camp.

If you're still not convinced that this is going to be the place to be on Saturday, I should mention that I've been reading up lots of interviews with promoter Barry Hogan, whose All Tomorrow's Parties festivals have seen the likes of bands such as, oh, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Slint, Boris, Om, Portishead, Deerhoof, Explosions in the Sky, pretty much every single band I've ever wanted to see, etc., and in more than one interview Hogan has referred to Shellac as one of the greatest live performances he's ever seen. So there ya go.

If that doesn't convince you, well, yeah, you should probably just stay home and listen to Bon Iver or something. But still feel encouraged to keep up with Jason's progress and even make a donation to his health fund through his Caring Bridge site if you are so inclined.

Monsterpiece Theatre at its finest

2009-11-13T10:24:00.002-05:00

In honor of Sesame Street's 40th Anniversary this week, I thought I'd share this way awesome Twin Peaks satire my friend Robbie shared with me the other day at work (same friend who hosted a Twin Peaks themed Halloween Party this year (aka Coolest Halloween Party ever)).

R.I.P. Louis "Shoeshine" Cobb

2009-11-11T20:24:00.004-05:00

I was saddened to hear that Louis "Shoeshine" Cobb died today of an apparent heart attack. He was a downtown Lexington fixture and the best dressed fella' you ever did see. One of the most unique characters around, to be sure. Seriously, always dressed to the nine, coattails and all, and ready to shine your shoes. I wish now that I had let him, at least once.

I didn't know him personally, but saw him often (as did anyone who was ever downtown, ever) and spoke with him occasionally. I'm sure he had his moments, but he was never anything but polite and classy in my encounters. I was also intrigued to find out that he attended practically every single LFUCG Council meeting and often spoke on behalf of a number of issues.

There's a documentary about him floating around somewhere called "Can't Stop the Shine" - if anyone has a link, or more info on that, please send it my way (kyblueline@gmail.com).

I have no doubt that he will be missed by many.

Link to Louis' Shoeshine web site

More details about Louis at ACEWeekly

Bill Callahan coming to Lex

2009-11-11T16:52:00.003-05:00

Moments after posting a barfly overview of newish Lexington club Cosmic Charlie's, I caught wind that Sprouse House Productions (aka Nick Sprouse, former general manager of The Dame who went his own way to form his own promotion company in recent months) is bringing BILL CALLAHAN to the club with Lights on Monday December 7.

In the opinion of someone (aka myself) not typically apt to tout singer/songwriters, Bill Callahan is a superb contemporary singer/songwriter, in the vein of Jim O'Rourke and Leonard Cohen - yeah, he does stripped down heartstring tuggers, and he does them really really well. His most recent album 'Sometimes I wish we were an Eagle' comes highly recommended; and check out his older stuff while you're at it.

Kudos to Sprouse House; sincerely excited for this one.

New local ticket giveaway site

2009-11-11T13:17:00.003-05:00

Smiley Pete, the publishing company I work for, is instituting a new Ticket Giveaway headquarters on our website. I think it's pretty snazzy. We've currently got some tickets for some upcoming shows at Buster's and Cosmic Charlie's, and hopefully in the near future, we'll have some more clubs/organizations on board. Feel free to bookmark the site, enter any of the shows you want to attend and check back as more shows are being added! (It's really easy to enter, you just give us your name, digits and e-mail info.) We ark that you only enter contests for shows you actually plan on attending, to ensure the tickets are going to a good home.

If you're promoting a show and you'd like us to give away tix, contact me at saraya@smileypete.com.

Cheers!

Barfly Overview: Cosmic Charlie's

2009-11-11T11:14:00.003-05:00

Despite what it's name, logo, and decor might suggest, Cosmic Charlie's, a new concert hall that opened in University Plaza (Euclid and Woodland) a few months ago, is not exclusively a hippie joint. (I for one am trying to get in the habit of dropping the 'Cosmic' schtick in favor of just calling it Charlie's, and I don't think I'm alone on this one.) Manager Mark Evans has been working hard (and doing a damn fine job) to get a variety of cross-genre shows in there, local, regional and national acts, and so far has succeeded in getting a show practically every single night of the week. It's been a hodge-podge mix : some jammy stuff, some funky stuff, a little Americana stuff, some bluegrass, a little punk, some electronica, indie, hip hop...nothing too crazy but a little bit of everything.

Since I think Charlie's might not be completely on the scenester radar yet, I figured I'd wax on the place for a minute.

The actual physical space has a special place in my heart - when I first moved here for college about 9 years ago, it was called Lynagh's Club (1990ish - 2002. R.I.P.). This place basically served as my gateway to the music scene in this town (albeit, the overall scene and my taste in music have both gone through some changes since then). It was the first place I ever saw live music on a regular basis in Lexington, and it didn't take long to get quite comfortable there - I found myself there pretty often in its final two years. The club was 21 + and I hadn't quite reached that age yet, so I had to exercise creative measures to get in (scandalous, I know - do note that they weren't particularly lax on IDs or anything; my friends and I were just realllllly determined, and quite thorough in our methods - you gotta fight for your right, man). And considering that the club ended up closing down before I turned 21, I have no regrets about sneaking in - there were very few (if any) 18+ clubs that I knew of, and going there regularly really got me turned on to the wonders of seeing live music in a small club. I'm not just putting it on when I say that having a comfortable place like that really helped me feel connected to this town in ways I might not have if I didn't have the chance to get out and enjoy live music regularly. This is an issue that has been addressed among concerned Lexingtonians repeatedly in the past few years, but in case it hasn't been on your radar very much, just think about how many kids leave Lexington directly after they graduate, because they "wanna get away from this town." Think about how they might feel differently if they had a regular spot that they loved, where they could see live music and meet new people and really become part of a music community. Fortunately, we now have a number of options (Buster's, Al's, Round Barn, etc.) to remedy this, and I know I'm not alone in feeling like Lexington has seen a great resurgence in entertainment options over the past few years.

But I digress.

First off, Charlie's is a really cool space. There are two main areas, separated by a few steps, and stage is really visible from both. If my memory serves me correct, the walls, floors and ceilings are all black, and there are basically no windows in the place, so it's got this dark & cozy atmosphere, which I love. The stage seems higher than the one that was at Lynagh's, which is good, and it's also been repositioned from the center of the back wall to the back right corner, kind of at an angle. Both of these factors seem to contribute to giving the stage better visibility from everywhere in the club. The back wall across from the stage has this crazy alternating LED light spectrum thing going on that's actually pretty cool. There's a number of places where you can sit down and have a conversation and still see the stage really well (though the conversation thing might be difficult if a super loud band like the All American Werewolves are playing, which was the case last time I was there) and also a decent sized open floor right in front of the stage. Capacity is just under 300, so it's a good sized venue for Lexington, but it's still really intimate. They also have one of the best beer-on-tap selections in town.

Overall consensus = Charlie's is a really quaint place to see small & mid-sized shows. I love Al's and I love Buster's for various reasons, but Charlie's has it's own thing going on and I think it can potentially offer a lot in rounding out the Lexington music scene. They've attracted a handful of shows that the old Lynagh's or even the old Dame would have gotten, like Dirty Dozen Brass Band (tonight), Asylum Street Spankers (tomorrow), Velvet Elvis (Saturday), Same As it Ever Was (November 28) AND you can find Bluegrass Collective, Lexington's most fun bluegrass band, there every Sunday. At this point, you probably won't find very many hipsters or WRFL kids there, or the young professional happy hour club - this is a place for the old school, down home, eternally casual-yet-enthusiastic Lexington music lovers of generations past. My sincere best wishes to the club.

Win tickets to see Asylum Street Spankers Thursday, November 17
Business Lexington article about Cosmic Charlie's
Cosmic Charlie's web site
Follow them on Twitter and shizz

ELandF Gallery

2009-11-10T12:32:00.002-05:00

Kudos to local "small project accelerator" ELandF Gallery for continuously instigating quirky community projects. I was sold from my first encounter, in July of last year : a classified ad in ACE Weekly seeking to hire mourners to publicly grieve over the loss of "The Dame block," which was torn down to make way for the CentrePointe debacle.

Since then, ELandF (which is basically Bruce Burris of Latitude Artist Community, a community that encourages people with perceived disabilities to create art) has initiated lots of fun, off-the-wall public art projects - including poetry readings in public buses and nursing homes; inviting folks to decorate the "last kiosk in Lexington"; selecting public readers to read their favorite book in a parking lot, to name a few.

Latitude Artist Community's Frankenstein Music Park was the brainchild of ELandFGallery's Bruce Burris. They set this tent, which had 100 records and a record player inside, at Parking Day as well as the Boomslang Carnival.

Now they've gone and hired 3 people to publicly watch clouds (yes, these people actually get paid). This is going down tomorrow from 12- 1 near Wine + Market (2nd & Jefferson Streets).

You've still got a chance to participate in the next ELandF Gallery project: Share a taxi with Lexington Vice Mayor Jim Gray. The selected participant, sure enough, gets a scenic bluegrass ride in a taxi with the Vice-Mayor. For more details (and archives of past events), visit their blog here.

Again, thumbs up to Burris and ELandF for imparting some weirdness to our humble town.

super sweet Butchers video

2009-11-10T10:55:00.004-05:00

Totally awesome video of Lexington band The Butchers' song "Soda Pop Soda." Video by Case Mahan (visit his blog here and other videos here).

The Butchers are playing this Friday, November 13 at Natasha's with Partly Cloudy (proceeds from the $20 show benefit Partly Cloudy's upcoming tour...if you don't want to swing that, you can catch The Butchers November 27 at Lower 48.). You wanna see this band.

In related news, Case (Street Gnar) played a kickass set to about 25 people in the woods this weekend...hooked up to a generator on the front porch of a cabin just outside the Red River Gorge. Reggae/samba beats. Everyone Lives Everyone Wins and Jovantaes also played wicked jams...awesomely weird times on one of the most magical pieces of land I've ever been on. My deep love for Kentucky reaffirmed once again.

Street Gnar will be opening for experimental psych-folk Wooden Wand at Al's Bar November 21. Of interest to me, Wooden Wand signed with Young God Records (label owned by Michael Gira of the majorly and equally epic SWANS and ANGELS OF LIGHT) for his next release, and is set to start recording early next year. (You can read a bit more about that here.)

TONIGHT - November 5

2009-11-05T13:34:00.005-05:00

Olympia, Washington underground-indie "crushpop" label K Records is representin' majorly in Kentucky tonight - LAKE and Karl Blau will be at Al's Bar in Lexington, and Mt. Eerie/Tara Jane O'Neil will be at Skull Alley in Louisville. I feel like I've blathered enough about Mt. Eerie and Tara Jane already, but do note that they played Lexington's Red Mile Round Barn a couple weeks ago and it was one my favorite shows I've seen this year (and I have seen a lot of good ones).

Al's Bar (presented by WRFL; all ages; $5)
Karl Blau - avant/jazz/folk inspired indie rock - this guy is all over the board, really, and he's good. (Apparently his new album Zebra is an homage to Africa to some extent?)
LAKE - I'm not that familair with them so I'll borrow directly from their bio: "The sounds they craft are straight from the playbook of the good parts of Billy Joel, Fleetwood Mac, and Turkish psychedelic music. Caressing the Rhodes piano, endearing drum fills, guitars that don't sound like guitars, and some slamming bass lines: Listening to LAKE is like pouring sugar in your ears. They'll turn your brain into chocolate, 67% cacao."
Little Noodles - Lexington's own adorable crushpop duo, featuring Eli Riviere and Nick Warner. Currently on a 3-stop in 9-days tour of Al's Bar.

Little Noodles at Gumbo Ya Ya. Photo by Mr. Toastey of MingleFreely.

If that doesn't suit your fancy, there are a couple other great events in Lex tonight:
Forum on Coal in Kentucky - all-day forum on the future of coal in our state, presented by the University of Kentucky College of Engineering. Timed accordingly (though coincidentally) with the recent controversy over UK's acceptance of $7 million from a group of Big Coal advocates (who call themselves "The Difference Makers") for the new "Wildcat Lodge." The event appears to be truly bi-partisan, featuring a variety of speakers and presentations representing various angles of the coal business, including: Jeff Goodell, NY Times writer and author of "Big Coal: The Dirty Secret Behind America’s Energy Future;" prominent environmental lawyer Tom Fitzgerald; Senior Vice President of Government Relations of Peabody Energy Fred Palmer; president and CEO of Alliance Resource Partners, L.P. (one of the largest coal producers in the states) Joe Craft (who incidentally put together the proposal for Wildcat Coal Lodge); and UK journalism grad Brad Luttrell, who wrote this fantastic expose on the effects of coal in Eastern Kentucky (Luttrell is also the author of the really well done Shock and Yawn music webzine). Given the high emotions currently surrounding this issue at UK and the extreme closeness to home, this all-day event is highly relevant, and much needed. Check the website for more info.

Sprouse House Productions and Lower 48 present Wu-Tang 'affiliate' Killah Priest at Lower 48 (21 +; $10)- what may be one of Lexington's biggest hip hop shows of the season (excepting the fantabulous October Boomslang events!) happens at one of Lexington's most intimate venues (read: Lexington's most tiniest venues). While I don't think he was ever officially "in the clan," he is considered a "Wu-Tang affiliate" (my hip hop knowledge is struggling, y'all). I don't know much about Killah Priest's solo career, but his list of guest appearances is hella impressive, including appearances on my personal two favorite Wu-Tang follow-up projects (Ol' Dirty Bastard's Return to 36 Chambers and GZA's Liquid Swords). Word is he will be doing an ODB tribute set tonight. The show also features 60 Second Assassin, Loose Change and Nate FX - so, my advice would be get there early because the venue is SMALL, but be prepared that Killah Priest may not start until LATE.

rocktober is over...only remnants remain....

2009-11-04T10:11:00.005-05:00

Recording artist extraordinaire Patrick Smith (known in some circles as the Tapeburglar) posted some boss Boomslang recordings on his blog Pretty Creatures a couple weeks ago, and as I am just getting around to checking 'em out, I wanted to pass along the info. Recordings include shows by Atlas Sound & Casino Versus Japan (!), Burning Star Core, Peaking Lights, Ga'an, Psychedelic Horseshit and more - check it out here. Particularly enjoying the Tiny Fights set at the moment - hands down one of my favoritest Lexington's bands.

While you're milling around Pretty Creatures, check out P Diddy's recording of last week's Broadcast show at the Wexner Center in Columbus. I was there, and I'm looking forward to listening to the recording to confirm my feelings about the show - I happen to fall in the "disappointed by Broadcast's live show" camp, which might be considered blasphemous to those who found the show to be one of the greatest experiences ever (I admit, my disappointment was likely shaped by my expectations for it to be one of the greatest experiences ever, as well as by the rather severe tummyache I developed that weekend - throughout the show I was poised for it to morph into full-blown swine flu, which thank god it never did). I have talked to a handful that agreed with me that Broadcast is just one of those bands that sounds way better on their albums, but overall the crowd seemed pretty much split.

Granted, they did have some of the most amazing psychedelic video projections I've seen-

(photo by Shanna Sanders)
But the 20 minute noise intro got me started on the wrong foot - not what I wanted to hear from Broadcast. Things picked up when they played some of my favorites from Tender Buttons ("Black Cat," "Corporeal") but something about the performance wasn't really capturing me as much as I had hoped. In what came as a pretty big surprise to me, I think I actually enjoyed Atlas Sound's set more than Broadcast's...

Anyway, in case you couldn't tell I'm really not a fan of doing concert reviews so I'll stop there...check out the recording of the show here and some photos by Shanna Sanders here.

All in all, October was one of the most unforgettable months ever as far as live music goes, at least to me...If you missed Mt. Eerie/Tara Jane O'Neil/No Kids at Round Barn a couple weeks ago, I highly encourage you to check them out at Art Damage Lodge in Cincy tonight or Skull Alley in Louisville tomorrow!!

ELEW at Boomslang Video

2009-11-02T22:13:00.002-05:00

Someone took some time editing together some really sweet footage of one of my favorite Boomslang events, Everyone Lives Everyone Wins performing at the Drone Temple at Hop Hop. As "you had to be there" as this particular event was (lots of smoke, candles, church altars, darkness, hidden caverns, radio installations, a live performance feeding off a simultaneous performance broadcast live from the WRFL studios), this video does a great job capturing the overall psyched-out creepiness of the event.

coolest halloween party ever

2009-11-02T21:57:00.001-05:00

photo by chris rosenthal

Great week of music 'round here...

2009-10-20T14:21:00.001-04:00

Tuesday, October 20
Lauren B and I will be Djing tonight at Buster's, from 10pm till the party stops. Come play with us. Best pool tables in town. It's FREE. (not $1 like we had formerly advertised.)

Wednesday, October 21

Cult Film Series presents Quadrophenia at Al's Bar, 7pm
Everyone Lives, Everyone Wins; Holy Mountains (new band featuring 3 members of Allegionaire); Dark Castle at the Hop Hop Garage. Uber-heaviness at the newly instated drone temple that ELEW christened at Boomslang a couple weeks ago. Seriously good space, seriously good jams. EARLY show, will be over by 11pm (at which point you should tune into WRFL for the last hour of my radio show).
Randy Tuesday and the Two Two Tuesdays at Green Lantern, 10:30 pm, 21+

Thursday, October 22
TARA JANE O'NEIL, MT. EERIE, NO KIDS at Red Mile Round Barn.
All ages, $5 UK students, $7 general public.
One of the highlights of an insanely good week for music. Beautiful, beautiful stuff. Read me gush about it here.

Friday, October 23
The For Carnation at the Speed Museum's "Art After Dark" event (Louisville, 9 pm $10)
The For Carnation is a really awesome Louisville band featuring Brian McMahan (of Slint) and a rotating cast of characters. Not sure what the exact line-up will be for this show, but i think it includes Todd Cook (Parlour, Shipping News, Crain, etc.) and;
I was under the impression that The For Carnation was a thing of the past and that as often as I listen to their self-titled album (which is great!), they were one of those bands I would never get a chance to see live. Then recently I learned they were playing the ATP 10 years anniversary party in England, and then they (rather quietly) announced this "Art After Dark" event (which also features multi-media art, zombie theater, fire dancing and an early performance by renowned Lexington cellist Ben Sollee). Word on the street is that this will be an all cover set, which is slightly a bummer to me because I really love their originals, but maybe they didn't feel the Louisville art museum crowd would take to their suuuuuuper sloooooow and heavvvvy post rock (kind of like Slint on some really good downers). Anyway, I've been told to expect Nina Simone, George Michael, Curtis Mayfield (which may be why the Art After Dark description describes them as being "R&B-influenced," a term I would never personally employ when talking about The For Carnation, but which I guess sort of makes sense in a weird way...)
RIYL Slint, Shipping News, Explosions in the Sky.
Highly recommended :)

Saturday, October 24
The Black Angels & The Raveonettes @ Southgate House

Sunday, October 25
Broadcast and Atlas Sound at the Wexner Center (Columbus, Ohio)
It's a bit of a haul, but shit, Broadcast came all the way from England and your 3-hour drive will TOTALLY be worth it.
Broadcast = sexy British femme fatale shoegaze magic. New mini album with The Focus Group drops October 26. Maybe the merch guy will hook it up at midnight.
Atlas Sound = aka Bradford Cox = aka Deerhunter frontman = aka dude who told you at Boomslang that if you acted that if you talked during the set of a Phil Elverum show (Microphones/Mt. Eerie), Phil would beat the shit out of you and your blood would totally be on his sweater = aka beautiful and lo-fi melodic space pop.

Win a pair of tix to see The Features!

2009-10-14T14:14:00.005-04:00

Win a pair of tickets to see The Features (Nashville) and The Modern Skirts (Athens, GA) this Friday October 16 at Buster's! 18 + show!

Both bands give great live performances - poppy, vintage, upbeat, new wave-influenced.

To enter, e-mail kyblueline@gmail.com telling me whether or not you've ever been to a Features show before, and I will draw a winner at random on Friday, sometime between noon - 2 pm. Be sure to include your contact info (phone number).

To listen to both bands, visit the Buster's site here.

about The Features' new album:
"Self-produced with the help of stalwart supporters Kings of Leon and Jacquire King (Tom Waits, Kings of Leon), Some Kind of Salvation combines the eclectic, folksy sensibility of the band’s EP, The Beginning (2003), with the driving, live energy of Exhibit A, the group’s first full-length, which was released by Universal in 2004. The new album also expands on the band’s self-released EP Contrast (2006), which experimented with new soundscapes and included the band’s first collaboration with keyboardist Mark Bond. His subtle textures added a new sonic fullness to the band’s vintage, melodic pop songs."

about Modern Skirts:
"Some might say we’ve come up with our own homegrown version of Sloan: another band of accomplished musicians who know their rock history intimately and have a similar knack for matching hooky verses with dazzling choruses. But that wouldn’t do justice to the band’s offbeat diction and endlessly intriguing lyrics. We’ll put it this way: you won’t always know exactly what’s happening in a Modern Skirts song, but you’ll always be curious, and surprised, at where they’re going next."

Don't Miss - amazing three-act bill at Red Mile Round Barn

2009-10-13T22:52:00.007-04:00

wrfl presents....
Tara Jane O'Neil, Mount Eerie, No Kids at Red Mile Round Barn
Thursday October 22, 8:30 p.m.
$5 UK Students; $7 general public

I'll go ahead and tell you, I have been looking forward to this event as being exactly what I needed after Boomslang - a totally awesome, totally chill show I could actually sit down and enjoy. It's kind of a toss up as to who will be 'headlining,' because both Tara and Mount Eerie are so phenomenal...I have a feeling it will be Mount Eerie, but I am every bit as excited to see Tara Jane. (I really don't know much about No Kids, but if they got on this bill they've gotta be great.)

Tara Jane O'Neil might just be my pick for under-hyped Kentucky talent - not to say that people don't know who she is, but I feel like her career hasn't been marked by the indie hoopla that surrounds names like Will Oldham, Jim James, or more recently, Vandaveer or Ben Sollee - though she is every bit as talented, seminal and capable of creating drop-dead ballads as any of those guys. Her new album, "A Ways Away" (K Records) is an absolute beauty, though my favorite album that I've heard of hers is by far "You Sound, Reflect" (2004, Quarterstick Records). A native Kentuckian who moved to the west coast a while back, O'Neil was integral to the Louisville underground post-punk scene in the '90s, playing a role in a number of bands at a time when Louisville was easily at the center of esteemed (if underground) alternative music in the entire country. O'Neil was in the short-lived but heavy-hitting Rodan (with Jason Noble and Jeff Mueller, both of Shipping News), but she was also in Retsin, The Sonora Pine and others, and played on Papa M's album "Whatever, Mortal." (She was also in this really cool cult movie called Half-Cocked, in which she, Noble, Meuller and other 'actors' play otherversions of themselves in a story about being clueless punk rockers on tour.)

However, all this name dropping and background says nothing about O'Neil's current music - her evolution from the more aggressive and dissonant sound that pervaded the Louisville scene in the '90s has led her to create beautiful, haunting melodies that still carry underpinnings of noise, psychedelia, discontent, heavy emotion...but talking about her songs doesn't do them justice in the slightest - listen to them here. (On a side note, O'Neil is also a visual artist and usually has artwork for sale on her tours too.)

Mount Eerie = Phil Elverum of the Microphones (you know, the guy Bradford Cox informed his slightly restless Boomslang crowd on October 9 who absolutely would not put up with talking during his set. So, if you talk during Elverum's set, and he beats the shit out of you like Bradford said he would, don't say you weren't warned.).
I admit I haven't followed his past few albums, but the new album "Wind Poems" is a departure from the Microphones' experimental lo-fi blippy psych pop, and a movement into dark, arresting poem-songs that are hollow and layered at once, one of which ("Between Two Mysteries") directly takes from the Twin Peaks theme song and therefore automatically garners my attention and respect (he actually alludes to Twin Peaks during the song, but I think he's talking about the overlook in San Francisco, not the David Lynch series/film - still an interesting thing to do).

No Kids = Vancouver indie pop who will be backing Mt Eerie as well. (They are also touring with Karl Blau this fall, who is coming to Lexington on November 5 with Lake.)

All this goodness will take place in the intimate and majestic setting of the Red Mile Round Barn on a Thursday night. It's the first show on this leg of the tour, and I predict a pretty magical evening. See you there...

mooooore....?

2009-10-13T22:05:00.003-04:00

So, there just so happens to be overwhelmingly amazing slew of shows in the upcoming weeks to ease any Boomslang withdrawal you might be fearing. I am trying to muster the strength to do my Official Recap while the memories are still fresh and vivid....hopefully I'll be able to get it up by the end of the week. In the meantime, check out some of the press and photos from the festival, here!

some upcoming shows you should most definitely have on your radar (and it don't stop):

FRIDAY OCTOBER 16
Dinosaur Jr. at Headliner's

SATURDAY OCTOBER 17
The N.E.C. w/ Jovantaes, Speech Boys, Cross at Al's Bar

SATURDAY OCTOBER 17
Indian Jewelry/Sword Heaven/Death Beam at Art Damage Lodge in Cincy

THURSDAY OCTOBER 22
Tara Jane O'Neil and Mount Eerie at Red Mile Round Barn

FRIDAY OCTOBER 23
The For Carnation at Speed Museum After Dark (Louisville)

SUNDAY OCTOBER 25
Broadcast and Atlas Sound at Wexner Auditorium in Columbus

SATURDAY OCTOBER 31
Man Man at Buster's - Halloween 'Halfway to Beaux Arts' fundraiser

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 21
Shellac at 930 Listening Room (Louisville) - Jason Noble benefit. If there are still tickets to this, I'd be shocked, and I bet they won't last for long!!

THE DEAL WITH FRIDAY BUSTER'S SHOWS

2009-10-08T00:19:00.003-04:00

(faust)

so here's the deal with the Friday Buster's shows

MUSIC STARTS AT 7 pm, with my vote for mystery-man-who-ends-up-stealing-the-show CASINO VERSUS JAPAN. He may have a surprise up his sleeve, he may not, who knows?? He's awesome either way. Bradford Cox has cited him as an influence. And works at your favorite record store..

And ATLAS SOUND will take the stage shortly thereafter, and be finished before 9 so be on time as much as possible! You can still make Atlas Sound if you go see Rachel Grimes! The hip hop show may go till 8 but you can experience one of the early shows and still catch 5 great bands at buster;s!

Bradford Cox has had pneumonia an has been majorly under the weather. Send him happy, healthy thoughts. Dude's getting ready to go on an extensive tour with BROADCAST for chrissake! We are thrilled he still wants to play Boomslang, of course, and are giving him an early slot so he can rest rather than raging until 2:30 am with us (there will be plenty of other options for us to do that!!!).

PARLOUR, featuring former members of Crain, Aerial M, The For Carnation - Louisville all-star band - hits the stage after that, then MISSION OF BURMA then friggin' FAUST!!!!!

In the midst of all that, the line-up in the Billiards Room is epic in and of itself:

GOOD POSTURE CLUB > CABOLADIES > PEAKING LIGHTS > TINY FIGHTS

So, yeah...tickets are "going like hotcakes" in the words of one co-organizer. See ya there....! DOORS AT 6! MUSIC ACTUALLY STARTS AT 7!"

-riot

Rachel Grimes and Sound/Vision

2009-10-07T00:56:00.003-04:00

Rachel Grimes has announced she will be opening her Boomslang performance at the Second Presbyterian Church with several of Erik Satie's 'Gnossiennes,' and then performing Book of Leaves, her gorgeous new solo piano album released last month on Karate Body Records. Perhaps best well known for her role in the amazing chamber group Rachel's (not names after Rachel!), Grimes is also a member of Louisville's King's Daughters and Sons, and has appeared on recordings by Tara Jane O'Neil, Shipping News, and many others.

Sound/Vision, Lexington's own (stunning) modern composition ensemble, will be opening the evening with 'Le Moutons de Panurge' by Frederic Rzewski.

5:00 pm Friday October 9

Show at 5:30

$6 general public/free with boomslang pass!

Hope to see you there - it's going to be a really beautiful and stimulating two sets, and one of the only sit-down shows we will have - there will be plenty of time to catch the evening shows at Buster's afterward!

2nd Pres is located on Main Street and Ransom, directly next to the Woodlands building. Turn on Ransom from Main and park on the street or in the Goodwin Square parking lot (approved parking for the church. Front Door Entry!

Punch Brothers at Natasha's

2009-09-30T23:02:00.001-04:00

Alltech Fortnight Festival presents....

Punch Brothers

Natasha's Bistro & Bar

Monday, October 5th, 2009

Tickets: $25

8:30 doors/ 9:30 show

Bar and concessions available.

BOX OFFICE: 859.259.2754

Open: M-F 10-4pm

http://www.punchbrothers.com

WednesdayPoetry Slam

2009-09-28T15:38:00.003-04:00

Wednesday September 30
7:30 p.m.
Poetry Slam Hosted by Marc Smith
Black Box Theater in the Downtown Arts Center on Main Street
(next to the Ann Tower Gallery andAlfalfa's)

This Wednesday, September 30, Alltech Fortnight Festival presents a Poetry Slam hosted by Chicago's Marc Kelly Smith in Lexington's Downtown Arts Center's Black Box Theater.

Smith just so happened to have founded the entire 'slam' movement, 25 years ago, and was recently featured in a lengthy spread in New York Magazine where he discussed how the movement has shifted since it first began.

The slam is two-fold, with Equestrian readers and traditional slam participants alike (including some favorite Lexington poets) and $2000 in prizes.

Yours truly, SaRiot, will be on hand as a judge.

Tickets are $15 and the show is expected to sell out. If you'd like to win a free pair, e-mail me at kyblueline@gmail.com and tell me your favorite poet. Winner will be drawn around 10 a.m. Wednesday!

MAN MAN to play Lex Halloween show!

2009-09-28T10:36:00.004-04:00

Last week, our good friends at Bullhorn gave word that experimental Philadelphian pirate-vaudevillian troupe MAN MAN have confirmed to headline what is shaping up to be one of the greatest Halloween shows Lexington has hosted in years. Even if pirate-vaudevillian music isn't your forte, these guys put on a hell of a fun show, with obvious hints of forefathers Tom Waits and Frank Zappa, but a sound that is altogether new in many ways.

Nina Mashurova wrote: "Man Man attacks their live shows with a frenetic energy that can only come from doing elaborate campfire dances with mischievous, vaguely anthropomorphic pagan deities clad in sparkly athletic gear. They rock classic white tennis outfits, feathers, and war paint. They play without pausing to take a breath. They sound like a pirate invasion, an electroclash polka, an orchestra turned party turned interplanetary zoo. Gravelly-voiced vocalist and resident wild man Honus Honus howls over melodic sax swells, tribal rhythms, high-pitched refrains, creating a cavalcade of sound that wields plenty of skill to match the spectacle."

Bullhorn and The Beaux Arts Ball Foundation presents:
The Half Way to Beaux Arts Ball

proceeds to benefit the BAB

Man Man

The Hood Internet

Dinosaurs and Disasters

The March Madness Marching Band

costume contest(winner receives free tickets to the spring Beaux Arts Ball) and more

Sat. 10/31 at Busters
doors @ 830
tickets- $20 advance $25 DOS

www.bustersbb.com facebook: beaux arts ball

We get an extra hour to party as the clock falls back that night...!

you need to look at these blogs

2009-09-19T22:16:00.003-04:00

Had to take a minute away from detailing the Boomslang schedule (yep, that's my Saturday night for ya) to check out these two hilariously awesome blogs. Must. Share.

I'm crying now. But from laughter, not from stress. Which is sweet.

Preliminary Boomslang schedule info is up at www.boomslangfest.com (go to Ticketing Info and click on the individual days!) and more info will hopefully be up by mid-week.

thanks

2009-09-18T16:36:00.003-04:00

Hey errybody,
Thanks for voting blueline as one of the best local blogs in AceWeekly's Best of Lex (!?). Humbled and flattered. Y'all making me blush. Check out the Best of Lex party at Gallery Hop tonight, at Awesome Inc.

Other best blogs:
Mingle Freely
Kimmyville

In other riveting news, Pitchfork gave BOOMSLANG a little love on Tuesday - thanks to Rachel Grimes for the heads up!

Oh, and in case you didn't hear, IT'S GONNA RULE!
Recent artist additions now up on the website, including MISSION OF BURMA (omg, wtf); ATLAS SOUND (fo realz!); PARLOUR (featuring members of the totally awesome Crain!); Kurt Vile (new Matador signee who will be blowing up shortly); and many many more!

Day passes are now for sale on the site, limited scheduling info is up and a bunch more info coming soon!

THE BOOKS at the Miller House 9/21

2009-09-16T10:40:00.003-04:00

To win tickets to see The Books, e-mail kyblueline@gmail.com telling about your favorite home movie experience. Could be one you've seen on AFV, one you've been in, one you've shot, one you've heard about. The best entry will win a pair of tickets to see The Books Monday, September 21. Drawing on Saturday, September 20. Please include name & contact info!

Bullhorn presents....
THE BOOKS
Benefit for the Foundation for Advanced Architecture
The Miller House Museum (map below)
Monday, September 21, 2009
Doors at 7 p.m. $15
All ages; cash bar.

(from North of Center, by Riot Rose)
Describing the sound of The Books can be somewhat precarious, bordering ineffective. People have called it “folktronica,” sound collage, experimental and aleotoric (OK, so I had to look that lat one up – basically it means that some element of the composition is left up to chance). But none of these terms really embody the New England duo – and besides, describing the sound of The Books, who will be making their first Kentucky appearance on Monday, September 21, at Lexington’s Miller House Museum, is to paint an incomplete picture of what exactly it is that they do. Audiophiles know them for their signature minimalist compositions, which consist of sparse and lovely melodies spliced with found sounds and conversations from various videotapes. But the experience of listening to The Books’ recordings lacks an integral element of the band’s work.

“Our shows are halfway between a film and a concert,” wrote Nick Zammuto and Paul de Jong (the human elements of The Books) in a recent e-mail. “We make videos to accompany all of our live tracks, and they are synched up tightly, as if the video is another member of the band.”

For the most part, the videos The Books synch into their recordings and performances are one-of-a-kind VHS tapes that the band picked up at various thrift stores on their tours of North America. The tapes, many of which were unmarked when they bought them, include outdated instructional videos, home movies, self-help tapes and videos advertising everything from cosmetics to strange religious ideas.

“We recently made a song out of an expletive-filled conversation between a prepubescent brother and sister that we found on a home-recorded audio tape at the Salvation Army,” the band reported. “The video that goes with it was made from the best moments from all of the 20 or so summercamp videos in our collection.”

The band, which has an upcoming album in the works after a three-year recording hiatus, has been known to utilize everything from traditional stringed instruments (guitar, cello, banjo) to a clavinet and a metal filing cabinet with a subwoofer installed. Blended with the found sounds and video, the result is as much a glimpse into the underbelly of modern American culture as it is a neo-folk avatar of the digital age.

This show presents an extraordinary chance to enjoy the setting of the Miller House Museum, which was originally built as a postmodern home for the late Bob Miller and his family. With its labyrinthine catwalks and interior terraces, glass panels, exposed structure and overall avant garde feng shui, the venue will undoubtedly provide a unique, picturesque and interactive backdrop for the strange and elegant sound & video experience of The Books’ performance.

Proceeds from the show, presented by Bullhorn (Lexington’s most with-it marketing & “etcetera” firm) will benefit The Foundation for Advanced Architecture. The foundation was created in part to preserve the Miller House, which has been touted as one of the last remaining marvels of modern architecture in a number of international journals. The show is also sponsored by WRFL, You Ain't No Picasso and Ky Blueline.

Music and more information about The Books is available at thebooksmusic.com; for exact directions to The Miller House, which is visible from Old Chilesburg Road, visit www.modernacommunity.com.

TONIGHT: wrfl presents Caroliner at Al's

2009-09-14T14:02:00.003-04:00

Dear friends,

These are the things you should know about San Francisco's Caroliner:

According to the band, the lyrics are all a tribute to a singing cow from the 1800s. (Her name was Caroliner.)
lo-fi bluegrass meets experimental noise (a sound informed as much by the echoes of lost miners as by nails being dropped down a flight of stairs)
They are playing at Al's tonight for $5.
Only you will not recognize it as Al's, because it will look something like this:

They take it to another level altogether.
Eyes and Arms of Smoke and Kraken Fury will open.
Stuff like this doesn't happen around here very often.
You probably should make it a point to be there.

xo,
riot

It's only September but Oktoberfest is upon us already

2009-09-14T11:59:00.004-04:00

Christ the King's Oktoberfest line-up is always surprisingly impressive. It has consistently been one of the fest free fests in town. The line-up usually leans toward solid bluegrass and Americana, with a mix of national and high profile regional artists that can be enjoyable to just about anyone, even if bluegrass & Americana aren't really your cup of tea. (Past artists to perform at Christ the King include JD Crowe, the Felice brothers, Sam Bush and Alejandro Escovedo.)

This year's highlights include bluegrass legends Tony Rice and Pete Rowan on Saturday, and The Minus 5, on Friday. The Minus 5 is a '60-style pop band featuring Scott McCaughey and Peter Buck, both of whom have played regularly with R.E.M. and Robyn Hitchcock, along with a mess of other high profile alt-rockers, over the years. They've produced a steady stream of albums since 1993 (most featuring different line-ups and special guests), including a collaboration with Wilco called "Down with Wilco" (2003). Note: The Minus 5 are playing at St. Francis of Assissi in Louisville on Sept 17th for $28; Oktoberfest is FREE. Other features include beer tents, family entertainment and a humongous rummage sale. More info here.

(from the CKC website)
Friday, September 18th

5:00-7:00 Ted & The Polka Dots Polka Party!
7:30-8:30 Rodney Hatfield & Tin Can Buddha Electric Blues
8:45-9:30 Paul Burch (Solo) Alt-Country from one of Nashville’s finest
10:00-11:00 The Minus 5 ‘60s Style Pop featuring Peter Buck & Scott McCaughey
12:00-1:00 Slo-Fi Reincarnation of local favorites, the Blueberries

Saturday, September 19th

2:00-3:00 Tim Easton (With band) Folk/Rock
4:00-5:30 The Fazed Cookies Rolling Stones Revue
6:30-8:00 Born Cross Eyed Americana covers that range from Merle Haggard to Jerry Garcia
9:00-10:30 Tony Rice & The Peter Rowan Bluegrass Band Grammy Award Winning Bluegrass/Jazz

Calling Local Artists

2009-09-11T14:51:00.002-04:00

From Jessi Fehrenbach ~ contact her if you have any interest in selling your art at a Boomslang Local Art Bazaar!
----
Hello Friends,

Exciting news!
WRFL's Boomslang Fest is coming up in October, and I am working with the organizers to bring another fabulous Art Bazaar together for this event. We would like to showcase our finest fabulous local artists and crafters as part of the Boomslang Carnival.

The date is Saturday Oct 11, the exact times will be TBA after the organizational meeting this week, but it will most likely be 11-7ish. I will have further information on the details next week.

Fortunately, we are able to offer display space to local artists for FREE for this event! In order to keep the cost down for all, artists will be required to bring their own tables, chairs, tents, and other display materials. Artists will be responsible for setting up their space before the fair opens to the public and taking it down after the show.
There will be an application to participate in the event, even though it is free.
We are looking for art in all mediums, crafts, local press, and other local handmade homespun goods to showcase Lexington's creative community!

Feel free to pass the info around and encourage other artists you know to contact me via email at
jessiannf2@yahoo.com in order to get an application! I will send an updated notice with more detailed info on the event next week sometime!

Thanks,
Jessi F.
---

Health and wellness wishes to Jason Noble

2009-09-04T15:13:00.004-04:00

Some of you may have already heard the unfortunate news about Jason Noble, guitarist from the each-amazing-in-different-ways Louisville bands Rodan, Rachel's and Shipping News. He went into an unexpected and major surgery to remove a cancerous growth this morning, and has many, many weeks of recovery & treatment ahead of him. Needless to say, Shipping News has canceled their performance at Boomslang in Lexington on October 9.

Here's to a swift and smooth recovery process - please keep Jason and his family and friends in your thoughts. If you are interested in keeping up with his progress, leaving a message in a guestbook, or making donations to his family, here's a link to his Caring Bridge site.

Boomslang had planned to announce the official schedule at the end of next week; that plan may be put on hold while we re-evaluate our schedule. Stay tuned to Blueline and www.boomslangfest.com for additional line-up announcements.

Free Outdoor Concert Series

2009-09-04T10:06:00.003-04:00

Also this weekend...the beginning of Stage 1 Outdoor Concert series!
Free outdoor concerts every Friday in September at the new community stage at Duncan Park.
530 N Limestone (between Limestone and MLK; 5th & 6th Streets)

Tonight features the blues guitar virtuoso Tee Dee and his Scandalous Band. Free food from Al's! 6-7:30 p.m.

Buster's Grand Re-Opening

2009-09-04T09:47:00.007-04:00

GRAND OPENING WEEKEND OF BUSTER'S

(as if you didn't know)
The grand opening of Buster's Billiards and Backroom, in it's new location (899 Mancheter St), under new ownership (Clark and Jessica Case), is finally upon us.

TONIGHT (Friday, Sept. 4):
These United States, Chico Fellini, Wax Fang
$10; 18 + ; doors are at 7, show is at 8.
(note: if you are under 21 you will be charged an additional $2 at the door since you'll be aking up space and not purchasing booze)
Three of the region's most up-and-coming rock bands. Tickets are going fast, and you can get them here.

TOMORROW (Saturday, Sept. 5)
Local showcase - Free show!
Goldenrod; Idaho, Alaska; Some Other Meanness (late night dance party with DJ Brocktologist)
21+; FREE

SUNDAY, SEPT 6
Wrfl presents...Autolux; Mini Mansions; Candy
7 pm, $7, 18 +
Check out Nick Kidd's preview from North of Center

Click here for a list of more upcoming shows at Buster's, including The Derek Trucks Band; Today the Moon, Tomorrow the Sun; Silversun Pickups w/Cage the Elephant & Manchester Orchestra; BOOMSLANG; The Sounds and more!

THE BOOKS COMING TO LEX, and more

2009-08-26T21:04:00.005-04:00

Hey errybody,

I'm waking Blueline up from a long nap because there's some great haps coming up in Lexington and I wanted to make sure everyone was awares.

Firstly and foremostly...

Bullhorn is bringing experimental library-folk-sound collage duo THE BOOKS to Lexington on Monday, September 21! This promises to be one of the most memorable shows in a while. Not only because of the unique nature of The Books, whose strangely beautiful soundscapes are composed of non-traditional instrumentation as well as various found sounds (thrift store cassettes, self-help tapes), but because it's at The Miller House, Lexington's amazing modern architectural marvel. The show is a benefit for the Foundation for Advanced Architecture and will be a multi-media experience; stay tuned for more kickass details in the very near future, but go ahead and mark your calendars stat. (co-sponsored by You Ain't No Picasso, WRFL and Blueline)

Secondly, in light of recent news of the Dame's closing, there have been a couple recent articles about Lexington's changing music scene, namely the opening of two new music venues very soon (Buster's and Cosmic Charlie's, formerly known as Lynagh's Club).
Ky Kernel
Shock and Yawn

Thirdly, there are some not-to-miss shows this weekend (sorry the details are so sparse):

Thursday, August 27

Girl Talk at UK's Student Center. Weird, right? Right. Getcha groove on, show all the new kids on campus how to day-ance....unless you don't already have tickets because word on the street is that it is SOLD OUT.
Weirdo music at The Void Skateshop: Nightmares, s.m.e.l.l., and a Cadaver in Drag solo set.
Kitschy dance pop in NoLi: Big Fresh, Matt Duncan, Little Noodles at Al's Bar. Sixth and Limestone.
DJ Night at Sidecar (Cheater's) - Case Mahan and Josh Blaine will be spinning
from 9 p.m. till the wee hours at LexVegas's new favorite hipster dive. Sixth and Limestone. FREE, 21 +

Friday, August 28

WRFL presents...: Back to School Hip Hop Throwdown at the Red Mile Round Barn! Tanya Morgan (which, contrary to popular belief is a full-blown really rad hip hop group, not some chick named Tanya); Cuntry Noize; Devine Carama - all ages, $4 for students; $7 general pub.

Saturday, August 29

"The Pen As Sword: Writing as Activism" - a workshop led by local literary giant Eric Sutherland (whom you may know as the MC for the monthly Holler Poet Series at Al's Bar). The event takes place at Carnegie Center at 11 a.m.; $25 (scholarships available); registration available by calling 859.254.4175.

WRFL presents...Crazy Dreams Band/Jana Hunter/Tiny Fights.

CMJ Announces initial line-up

2009-08-24T18:01:00.005-04:00

CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival (for all intents and purposes, New York City's lesser-known version of Austin's South by Southwest), finally announced its initial line-up today. There are many (many) more bands to be announced soon, but here's what it's shaping up to look like so far:

Broadcast - School of Seven Bells - Múm - Atlas Sound - Zac Brown Band - Japandroids - Portugal. The Man - Margaret Cho - The Budos Band - Pitbull -
The Very Best - The Temper Trap - Crystal Antlers - Cymbals Eat Guitars - Malajube -
Local Natives - Wild Light - The Antlers - Das Racist - Suckers - Pissed Jeans - Screaming Females

So, yeah, even though the majority of the line-up is rather shruggable to me, I'm way pumped to see one of college radio's (WRFL's, at least) favorite contemporary British psychelectronic bands BROADCAST on the top of the bill...

Not because I'll be attending (1300 bands, $475, New York City - it's a little too much on all fronts for me) but because Broadcast is touring North America, which gives me some sort of distant hope for humanity in some way I don't fully understand (even though the band informed me, sadly, that they are unfortunately unavailable to play Lexington at this time...). In comparably exciting news, the tour is in support of their upcoming album, to be released via Warp Records October 13.

Broadcast are touring with Atlas Sound in the next couple of months - check their MySpace for some jams & a complete list of dates.

Discounted tickets for CMJ are available until Sept 22 but don't get your hopes up - they're still (un-freaking-believabley) $285 for students and $475 for the general public. Seems like a complete racket to me too, but apparently a pretty sizeable population of music industry hipsters (and corporate junkies) are willing to pay this - CMJ and it's cousin South x Southwest draw hundreds of thousands of people from all over the country each year for their extreme, hyper-active week of overstimulation/saturation.

I'm really not as bitter about this as I might sound...I have very limited interest in attending this fest so I don't really care how much they're charging...but I should add that for your money, I'd recommend BOOMSLANG....a much more affordable festival (in your own backyard, Kentucky!) that focuses heavily on bands that are tried and true (strange and offbeat as they might be)....

Stay tuned for a post about Boomslang.....soon, I promise, SOON!!....

In related festival news, All Tomorrow's Parties (the New York festival that I am actually tempted to splurge the $285 or so on) continues to slay with line-up additions - filmmaker Jim Jarmusch added recently...

Natasha's featured on NPR

2009-08-02T14:46:00.003-04:00

If you have been paying attention to what's happening in Lexington, you have likely noticed that in recent months, Natasha's Bistro has been picking up steam in a major way, with a new lease on booking and recent renovations (not to mention brilliant future plans) helping cement their status as one of Lexington's most diverse, unique and all around illustrious hot spots.

This morning, the restaurant/bar/theatre/music venue was featured on NPR's Morning Edition, one of the leading radio news shows in the country.

The story drew from multiple interviews wiht Natasha Williams, who owns Natasha's Bistro along with her husband Gene, and also directs Natasha's theater group, Balagula Theatre. The NPR Website features video clips of Balagula Theatre Production “Pillowman” (April 2008), starring Balagula’ Artistic/Managing Co-Director Ryan Case ( Winchester), Joe Gatton (Lexington), David Richmond (Versailles), Pete Sears (Lexington).

Natasha's Bistro and Bar is home recurring weekly and monthly events such as Tawaga Tuesdays, Wandering Storytellers, LexJam, and Rakadu Gypsy Dancers, as well as nightly cultural events (concerts, theater, etc.). On August 23 they will host Over The Rhine, and they will also take part in Lexington's upcoming 3-day multi-venue music and art festival BOOMSLANG, presented by WRFL on October 9-11.

You can find their full schedule at www.beetnik.com.

Way to go Natasha's - thanks for doing more than your share to put Lexington on the cultural map!

Legacy Trail - movin' along

2009-07-28T12:15:00.003-04:00

A Legacy Trail announcement is set for July 30 at Thursday night Live! The free event starts at 5:30 at Cheapside Park downtown (as with every Thursday during the summer), and the announcement will be made at 6:15 ~ free "beverage" if you ride your bike! The Legacy Center will also be unveiling three logos for the trail, to get public feedback and input.

In case you've been hiding under a rock, the Legacy Trail is Lexington's forthcoming 9 mile mixed-use path – it will start downtown, wind through the East End, hit up some parks along the way and end up at the Kentucky Horse Park, out Newtown Pike. There should only be one major street-crossing. This will provide a much-needed, long overdue option for Lexington walkers, joggers, skaters and cyclists to have a path of their very own – as you probably aware, the complete lack of bike trail options in Lexington is pretty dire.

(Here's an article I wrote in Business Lexington last year about the Legacy Center - search "Legacy Center" on the BizLex site for other related articles.)

The project has nearly $8m in place so far (with funding from the John L. Knight Foundation, the city and other sources). The Legacy Center is currently working on getting the final leg funded (from Northside YMCA to IMMAG at 3rd and Midland).

Ground breaking is set for October 2009, with completion by September 2010.

If you're interested in volunteering, e-mail Beth Willmott at the Legacy Center: bwillmott@bgcf.org

And visit the website for updates about the Trail and the East End:
www.legacycenter.ning.com
www.mylegacytrail.com
Facebook Group

Decemberists coming to Lexington

2009-07-27T15:49:00.002-04:00

From September 25-October 25, Alltech will host the Alltech Fortnight Festival, presenting a different concert each night across the state. The full line-up has not been announced, but I've got the skinny on a Lexington show some of you may find of interest:

The Decemberists w/ special guest Laura Viers
October 6
The Singletary Center
Tickets = $30/35/40

Not listed on the Singletary or Alltech website, but the info is out there, and I thought you might want to know before you got tickets for The Decemberists' show at Louisville's Brown Theatre in August (Heartless Bastards are opening).

Expect the full line-up for the Fortnight Festival to be announced in early August. Stay tuned to Blueline for more info.

AND, don't forget to save the dates of October 9-11 for BOOMSLANG, a WRFL-sponsored celebration of music, art and other curiosities, to take place at various venues across Lexington. The initial line-up is super-exciting, and will drop mid-week next week. Be sure to follow @sariot and @wrfl on Twitter for more updates!

July 22-July 27

2009-07-21T21:48:00.002-04:00

thanks to ross compton and mike sullivan for some heads ups about some thangs, and some descriptions too! um, i think i left out a bunch of stuff this week ~ as usual, your event isn't on here, please feel free to leave it in a comment...

Wednesday, July 22:

Holler Poets #15 at Al's Bar! This week's installment features Danville's Maurice Manning, winner of the 2000 Yale Younger Poets Prize (one of the most prestigious national awards a young poet can get), as well as Affrilachian poet Mitchell Douglas. Music by NEMO band (members of the now-defunct US Band)

Thursday, July 23:

Start your morning off all the way to the left with Trivial Thursdays on WRFL (88.1 FM in Lexington, or you can stream it from anywhere in the friggin' world at wrfl.fm). Host Mick Jeffries will be joined this week with Ace Weekly writer and "Kimmyville" blogger Kim Thomas. 7-9 a.m.
On Thursday night, Goldenrod, one of the leading local-bands-I-dig-but-haven't-seen-live-yet will be playing at new S. Limestone hangout Soundbar. Not really sure how the place will be set up with live music, but it's a pretty nice bar...I really really recommend the Moscow Mule.

Friday, July 24:

Quamics ? #1 Book Release Party at Gumbo Ya Ya (1080 S. Broadway, next to Buffalo Wild Wings. Release party for for new local comic collective's debut book. Live music, delicious eats, and cheap beverages. Admission is FREE.
Bedtime and Wussy at the Green Lantern

Saturday, July 25:

Spooky Qs and Latin Heat ~ afternoon show at Pop's Resale Shop. 2 - 4p.m.
Build the Stage Fundraiser! Rock out with Matt Duncan, Randy Tuesday and the Two Tuesdays Latin Heat in this worthy, worthy cause - raising dollers for to build a stage at Al's Bar!!! All ages; 9 p.m.; $5 > shit, if you can't make the show, at least stop by and give your $5 ~ this stage-building business at Al's is something that seriously needs to happen!!
Also, while you're on the North side, stop by the Green Lantern to catch Mike Sullivan's favorite rock band, The Sundresses (from Cincy). Opening will be Reverend Deadeye, whom Mike so brilliantly described as "a one man wrecking machine of satanic gospel voodoo crazines." Sold!
Jason Isbell (formerly of the Drive-By Truckers) and the 400 Unit are playing at the Dame. Opening the show will be Deep VIbration from Nashville, and Jon Imeson will be DJing afterward.

Sunday, July 26:

The band formerly known as Godd will be making their Natasha's Bistro debut (and possibly the debut of all circus metal at Natasha's). Latin Heat and The All Dad Blues Band will also play. "Expect to enjoy one of the best small venue sound systems in Lexington!"
Wretched Worst, Pedals On Our Pirate Ships, The Human Quena Orchestra, Backwoods Terror at Chaosome (6th and Limestone).

Monday, July 27:

Outside the Spotlight / Event 107 > Mary Halvorson & Jessica Pavone @ Morris Book Shop (408 Southland Dr) > 7pm, all ages, FREE (donations encouraged for the musicians) > Mary Halvorson & Jessica Pavone = lovely guitar, viola, voice duets from Brooklyn - www.myspace.com/maryandjess. "There's a disarming openness to their interaction, never more pronounced than when the two are blending their voices in something like a campfire harmony. But this music isn't clever or cute. Its core is steely, and its execution clear." -Nate Chinen, The New York Times

Things, and stuff

2009-07-21T15:53:00.002-04:00

You may or may not have noticed that I'm not a huge fan of reviewing shows. But I love it when other people are, so I'm going to direct y'all to Mr. Walter Tunis' review of last night's Neko Case show - I was there, but I couldn't have put it better myself.

As for my review of Pitchfork, which I attended this past weekend, I will go so far as to say that Jesus Lizard completely slayed, as did Black Lips. Other highlights of the weekend include Wavves (they reallllly need to team up with The NEC from Atlanta and play a Lexington show, I have decided; does someone want to make this happen for me?); Flaming Lips (um, no-brainer - Wayne came out in a huge clear bubble and starting rolling around on top of the crowd); Grizzly Bear, who sounded really great and actually rocked out more than I thought they would (although their neglect of playing songs from Horn of Plenty, probably my favorite album of theirs, was slightly disappointing. Can I get a "Deep Sea Diver" some day???); and the middle-of-nowhere warehouse after-party we went to, BitchPork, which featured shows by Times New Viking and G'an.

P.S. Stay tuned to Blueline for some very exciting, very soon announcements about the upcoming WRFL festival, October 9-11....oh, and go ahead and make arrangements to be there, 'cause it's gonna rule.

Beastie Boys cancel tour, postspone album release

2009-07-20T17:48:00.003-04:00

Beastie Boys MC Adam Yauch (aka MCA) delivered some "heavy news" to his fans this morning - he has been diagnosed with an early stage of cancer in his salival gland, and will be undergoing surgery and radiation in the upcoming weeks (see video below for Yauch's personal announcement).

Thus, all upcoming shows (including Lollapalooza) have been canceled, and the release of the Beastie Boys upcoming album has been pushed back as well.

Here's to Adam and hoping he has a smooth recovery...

Save the Date

2009-07-16T08:08:00.001-04:00

Heads up on some fabulous WRFL sponsored shows coming up this fall:

Crazy Dreams Band (Lexie Mountain) / Tiny Fights / ATTEMPT
Al's Bar
Aug 29

Autolux / Candy / Mini Mansions
Al's Bar
Sept 6

Mount Eerie / Tara Jane O'Neil / No Kids
Red Mile Round Barn
Oct 22

Karl Blau / LAKE
Al's Bar
Nov 5

New ATP additions

2009-07-11T21:05:00.002-04:00

All Tomorrow's Parties announced additions to their New York line-up, cementing their position as quite possibly the most superior festival curators in North American history (Terrastock is certainly up there). If I end up not making it to this one, I will consider it one of the great tragedies of my life.

Additions announced this week include Shellac (!), Crystal Castles (!), Boris (!!!), Oneida (performing Ocropolis), Sufjan Stevens, Super Furry Animals and more.

Already announced artists include Deerhoof, Flaming Lips (who are curating Saturday of the fest), Akron/Family, Melvins, Deerhunter, Suicide, Jesus Lizard, Caribou (performing as the Caribou Vibration Ensemble, featuring members of Four Tet, Sun Ra Arkestra and others), The Dirty Three, David Cross, Boredoms (performing 9-drummer BOADRUM), Animal Collective, Panda Bear and many, many others.

Go, and take me with you.

Forecastle Tickets

2009-07-09T14:38:00.002-04:00

Congratulations to the winners of the Smiley Pete Friday Forecastle ticket giveaway!

Evan Belt
Bryden Heywood
Robin Atwell
Casey Burmeister
Will Mack

And Rebecca Williams, who won the weekend passes!

Winners have been notified, and have until 4:30 tomorrow to claim their tickets. Please contact me at kyblueline@gmail.com, or at 859-266-6537 (ask for Saraya) for details on picking up your tickets.

July 7 - July 13

2009-07-08T10:59:00.005-04:00

I'll be drawing for Forecastle ticket winners this afternoon and notifying the winners by this evening. Make sure you submit your entry to kyblueline@gmail.com (see details below!).

As for some events this week:

Tonight, Wednesday, July 8 :

The Bob Dylan Show (also featuring Willie Nelson and John Cougar Mellencamp) is coming to the Louisville Slugger Field. Doors are at 5:30 p.m. and tickets are $69.50.
The Summer Classic Film Series at the Kentucky Theatre is showing "The Godfather" at 1:30 and 7:15. (All seats $4.) Take the gun, leave the canoli.
KCTC Summerfest kicks off this evening at the Arboretum, with Henry IV (running through Sunday). This summer theater festival stepped up to fill the gap that Shakespeare in the Park left when it ended a few years back. For more info, visit the KCTC Summerfest homepage.

Thursday, July 9:

Catch local poet Sunny Montgomery on Trivial Thursdays with Mick Jeffries on WRFL from 7 a.m. - 9 a.m. (tune into 88.1 fm or stream it at wrfl.fm). Sunny was recently chosen by the ELandFGallery Small Projects Accelerator to be the Bangin' Up a Storm! poet, meaning she will tour area nursing homes on July 15, reading poetry (both original and favorite chosen poems). The event will close with a public reading at Morris Book Shop at 7:30. More info on this unique event at the ElandFGallery site.
Award-winning orchestral pop nine piece Lost in Trees will be playing at Natasha's: "Garden State Film Festival’s winner for Best Music in a Short Animation, Lost in the Trees brings their nine piece band to Natasha’s Bistro. The Chapel Hill natives are surrounded by praise from a variety of publications including Entertainment Weekly, Pop Matters, All Music Guide, IGN, Shuffle Magazine and The Independent. With their fearless leader at the helm, composer, musician, vocalist Ari Picker this stunning orchestral-pop outfit performs a truly engaging, dynamic live show. Their vibe is something special, rare and infectious." Show starts at 9 p.m., $7.
Great night of experimental music at Al's Bar, featuring Sound/Vision, a local outfit made up of mostly UK music students ( I think!)who performs avant garde + modern compositions, with video accompaniment. Experimental cellist Valerie Kuehne from New York and drummer David Grollman will also perform.
Coralee and the Townies are playing at the Fishtank.

Friday, July 10

Forecastle Fest kicks off in Louisville tonight with headlining sets by Zappa Plays Zappa (Zappa tribute band led by Zappa's son Dweezil), Pretty Lights (glitchy electronica) and Black Keys (rockin' Southern blues-indie two-piece). The After Party on the Belle of Louisville features DJs Tim Norris, Jesse Jamz, and Designer Drugs.
Louisville's Mickey Clark (who happens to be my uncle) will be performing at Natasha's. He's a Nashville-trained "legendary songwriter" (according to Natasha's - not trying to toot my own familey's horn here), whose songs have been recorded by the Oak Ridge Boys and Jerry Lee Lewis. His latest album features guest appearances by Sam Bush, Tim Krekel, John Prine and others. If country-twinged singer-songwriter stuff is up your alley, this show is definitely recommended! $7, 9 p.m.
For more country-twinged singer-songwritin' action, check out the lovely Coralee and the Townies at Al's Bar.

Saturday, July 11

2:00 p.m. - Adam Craft will sign Songs of Nod at Morris Book Shop. From Morris' website: "Local Author Adam Craft will sign his second work of macabre vignettes, Songs of Nod. This new collection of eighteen stories can be read as a companion to Craft's first work, Echoes of Nod, but it also stands fully on its own."
4 p.m. - 7 p.m - Public memorial for James Baker Hall, who died on Thursday, June 25. "Music will begin at 3:30p and the service will start at shortly after 4p. in Lexington's Gratz Park. (If the weather is forbidding, we'll move inside to the Jesse Stuart room of the Carnegie Center.) Around 5:30 a reception will begin in the Carnegie Center, with food and drink and poetry. We would like to ask that contributions for the reception be made as wine - if you knew Jim, you understand how much he treasured wine. So, bring some libation and please celebrate Jim, if you wish, by bringing along a poem to read. We hope you'll join us as you can."
Louisville's Forecastle Festival will feature a performance from Lexington's March Madness Marching Band today! Other Saturday performances will include Man Man, Arnett Hollow, Royal Bangs, Black Crowes, Widespread Panic and many more
Good Foods Market & Cafe will offer live music & grill out every Saturday in July! Enjoy local grilled meats and veggie burgers, signature homemade fresh squeezed lemonade, fresh organic juices, iced tea, and fruit smoothies. This Saturday features live music from Lot 13 (classic rock).
Spooky Qs / Smuttynose/Betty Rat at Al's Bar

Sunday, July 12

I think I've written enough about the SUNN 0))) show on this blog already, but just in case you didn't catch it, it's tonight, at the Southgate House in Newport, and it's going to be the darkest, heaviest shit ever. See you there - if you think you can handle it.
On that note, the light & airy Bluegrass Collective will be making their triumphant return to Pazzo's Patio (one of my favorite patios in town) tonight! If you've seen these guys, you know they're great, and if you haven't, let me tell you - they're great! Casual, traditional bluegrass with some fun covers thrown in for good measure. 9ish p.m.
The Forecastle line-up tonight features These United States, Yonder Mountain String Band, the Avett Brothers, and more Widespread Panic (in case you didn't get enough on Saturday night).

Monday, July 13

The place to be tonight is Al's Bar, for Deer Tick, raucous honky tonk garage music. It's a WRFL sponsored show, so you know it's gonna be good - right?

FORECASTLE GIVEAWAY

2009-07-07T10:06:00.003-04:00

Blueline is giving away tickets to Forecastle, via Smiley Pete Publishing! Forecastle is THIS WEEKEND, July 10-12, in Louisville at the Waterfront Park.

We have a number of tickets for Friday night (Black Keys are headlining!), and one lucky winner will win weekend passes - Widespread Panic and Black Crowes are headlining Saturday, and Widespread Panic and the Avett Brothers are headlining Sunday!

E-mail kyblueline@gmail.com with the subject "Forecastle" to be entered in the drawing.

In the body of the e-mail, be sure to tell me your name, and also specify if you want Friday night passes or weekend passes - we want to make sure the winner of the weekend passes will actually be able to use them.

Save the Date(s)

2009-07-06T10:01:00.004-04:00

Heads up on some great shows coming up in the region in the near future...

Sunday, July 12: SUNN 0))) at the Southgate House in Newport. Dark, heavy, ambient drone metal from the founders of Southern Lord Records. SUNN 0))) describes their new album Monoliths and Dimensions as "the most musical piece we’ve done, and also the heaviest, powerful and most abstract set of chords we've laid to tape." Salt Lake City duo Eagle Twin will open. $12

Monday, July 13: WRFL presents Deer Tick at Al's Bar in Lexington. Garage honky tonk of the highest caliber - in other words, an Al's Bar poster-band. $5, all ages.

Friday, July 17: Celebrated classic folk singer and rhythm guitarist Richie Havens will be performing in Somerset, Ky as part of the Master Musicians Festival. Day pass is $20.

Monday, July 20: Alt-country goddess Neko Case will perform at Woodsong's Old Time Radio Hour (The Kentucky Theater, Lexington). Advanced tickets highly recommended; I would be shocked if this show doesn't sell out. $15 ($10 w/ student ID)

Tuesday, August 4: Deerhunter/No Age/Dan Deacon - Round Robin show at the Southgate House in Newport. This show falls smack in the middle of a quick 7-day midwest tour. All three bands will play onstage together, at the same time, collaborating on each other's songs. Shizz gonna be crazy. $10 adv/$12 DOS (if there are any tickets left by the time the show gets here).

Monday, August 10: The Decemberists @ the Brown Theatre in Louisville. Portland's critically-acclaimed literary indie-kings return to the bluegrass state. $35.

Wednesday, August 12: Old Crow Medicine Show Big Surprise Tour (w/ David Rawlings Machine [featuring Gillian Welch], The Felice Brothers, Justin Townes Earle) at the Waterfront Park in Louisville. $35; 5:30 p.m.

Sunday, August 23: Over the Rhine at Natasha's Bistro. Jazz-tinged midwestern neo-soul fronted by gorgeous female vocals, at one of Lexington's most charming and intimate venues. $19.

Sunday, September 20: Akron/Family are ending their extensive "Set 'em wild, set 'em free" U.S. tour at 21C in Louisville. While I guess you could call Ak/Fam "experimental indie folk," there's no label that does them justice - Akron/Family is one of the most unclassifiable, cross-genre bands out there. Louisville's fabulous experimental hotel/museum should be a perfect setting - definitely a "don't miss" show. Oh yeah, tapers are welcome (just promise you'll get me a copy).